DNA
by 225Starburst
Summary: Six years of her marriage to Jackson falls apart for Hayley with the speed of lightning very close to Christmas arriving, destroying her relationship with the father of her child. But what if there is more to uncover about this tragedy? How will the residents of New Orleans learn about forgiveness during the most sentimental holiday of the year? (Klayley, Camlijah and Rebel)
1. Shallow Discoveries

**Hello, guys! For all Klayley fans, this is a Christmas/ New Year's special in which Klaus and Hayley learn about the importance of love, acceptance and most importantly forgiveness. Additional pairings will be Rebel (Marcel & Rebekah) and Camlijah (Elijah & Camille, who will be having a journey of their own). **

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**PLOT: Hayley is ready to vanish with Hope, after striking a deal with Freya and reminiscences the past when she thought everything would work out with her love life, and she could finally settle down. A tragedy leaves the wolves angry at Hayley, as she abandons her position as their Queen. During a heartbreaking funeral, Klaus is convinced that Hope can have a better life without him in it. Meanwhile, Freya confronts Elijah, after a vision she had of him, and finally, Cami's plans for the holidays are revealed.**

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She grabbed her bags and placed them in the car. Some tears were still running down her eyes but Hayley quickly wiped them away. She was tougher than this. She was always tougher than this. "Hayley! Wait! Please reconsider! He hasn't even admitted to doing it!" Freya called out and ran out of the compound to see the hybrid girl, packing her things in the car. Hayley simply shook her head and wiped away all of her tears as the 6-year old Hope came out the door with her favorite stuffed wolf in her hands and a widened expression. "Mommy, where are we going?" she asked. Hayley did her best to smile and kneeled down, touching her daughter's cheek. "We are going on a little trip, sweetie." "But isn't Daddy coming with us?" she asked her. Looking over at Freya one more time, Hayley whispered, "No. Daddy is not coming with us. Daddy is busy right now, okay?" "Okay." Hope replied, obediently. After placing the little girl in her car, Hayley handed a piece of paper to Freya.

"You have it all there. The location, address and my new phone number. You will be able to bring Hope back here, okay? But I am staying as far away as possible." "Hayley, I have never done something like this before. Transporting Hope through magic is a great risk." "I am not taking his daughter away from him. I know I have no right to do that, no matter what he's done…" "So you want Hope to visit regularly, still?" "It is the only way that I can get him to really leave me alone. He has ruined my life from day one. I tried to look past everything but this…I will never be able to forgive him for this…I won't! And I never want to see him again. But Hope is his daughter and she loves that son of a bitch, so that is why I am begging you to do this not just for him, but for her too." "Alright, I will do my best. But Hayley…please…I can do something. Like I said, he has not confirmed it." "Maybe to you, he hasn't but he has confirmed it to me well enough." "How do you know?"

"I know. Everyone knows. I never would have encouraged him if I knew that he would take things this far!" "Hayley, you could have never stopped this from happening. It was a long marriage to Jackson and a long journey for the two of you. But you never really loved him, and I have seen it all, when I entered my brother's memories…his thoughts…I saw only you…the woman in his heart." Hayley snorted. "I am sure you're trying to say anything you can right now to get him out of this mess, but you can't, Freya. He did what he has always done. But this time, he did something that even if he wanted to, he can never take back. He did it without any remorse." "Even if he did, which I don't believe it…he must have done it out of desperation. You know that you would have never abandoned Jackson, for anyone. He knew that you would never have done it when you and Elijah had a thing going on. And after six years of marriage to him, how could he think that you would just drop it…and for someone like him?" "Yeah, I am sure that is his reason…and he is going to jump back in bed with Cami the second I am gone. He doesn't deserve what he had, and now he just lost his luck."

Rubbing her eyes, Hayley just looked over the compound one more time, before putting the rest of her things in the car, where Hope was now in, and she was playing with her stuffed wolf. The sight made Hayley's heart skip a beat, as she remembered the night she saw him offer this wolf to their daughter. He had said that it would always protect her, and remind her of where she belonged, among the wolves. They were the wolf family. "Goodbye, Freya." "You are leaving now?" "No. I have to stop by in the bayou. I have to tell them…that I can't be alongside them anymore. And I need to be there, when they offer Jackson the funeral he deserves, as a former werewolf alpha." "We will keep in touch." "I trust you…so you will not give any details of our location to Klaus, do you understand me?" "Yes, of course." The two women hugged and parted ways at last. "Mommy, where are we going?" Hope asked softly and leaned her head on her lap. Hayley took a deep breath and responded, "You and me are taking a trip to California, baby. We'll be staying there for a while."

"But, it's almost Christmas." Hope whimpered and Hayley closed her eyes. "Christmas is in a few days, yes. You will be home to see your Daddy then, okay?" "And I will get presents?" "Of course. Just like every year." "Can you and Daddy kiss under the mistletoe again?" Hayley felt something stuck in her throat at that moment and she was the one who had to keep herself from crying. "Hope, sweetie, do you remember what Mommy told you, that we can't talk about that anymore? Mommy and Daddy had an accident and we must never talk about it. Do you understand?" "Yes, I understand." Hope mumbled and yawned, getting sleepy. Hayley ordered the compelled driver to take them to the bayou. That had to be her last stop before she would leave New Orleans for good. She knew she had to think fast about what excuse she would offer her daughter. And last year on Christmas…Hayley remembered it all. It was the night she and Klaus could no longer hide what they felt from each other. It was a night where they expressed the hatred for the situation, but also love.

…

 _She sensed him at the door when the doorbell rang. Hayley took a deep breath and opened the door. Klaus was standing there with two wrapped boxes in his hands and a small smile on his face. "Merry Christmas, little wolf." Hayley cleared her throat and moved away from the door to let him enter the apartment where she and Jackson had been living for the past few years. "Merry Christmas. Hope is in the living room." He frowned at the way she was distancing herself from him. They had put aside their differences a long time ago, for the sake of Hope. And they had gotten even closer with the years that came. They were close. "Hayley is my presence a disturbance to you?" he asked and Hayley immediately shook her head. "No, of course not. I'm glad you're here and Hope is dying to see you too." "DADDY!" Hope exclaimed and rushed forward using her hybrid speed and landed in her father's hands. Klaus chuckled and brought her up to kiss her cheek and then her forehead. "Did you bring me any gifts?" she asked him at once and Hayley scoffed. "Your father has come to see you and gifts are all you're worried about?" Klaus ignored Hayley's remark and said, "Of course I have brought you a gift. Open this."_

 _Handing Hope one of the smaller boxes, a huge smile lit on the child's face as she took it and rushed to the living room so she could open it under the Christmas tree, like she has always wanted to. Klaus stood at the doorway, his heart melting at the sight of his daughter being happy. Hayley found herself standing by him and he asked, "Where might your husband be?" he smirked when he saw the look on her face. "Is there a problem, love?" "He's in the bayou. He said he wanted to spend some time with his own family for a change." She looked over to see the look on Klaus' face change. At once, the happiness for his daughter was replaced by anger. "I have warned him so many times that if he dares…" "Klaus, please…don't go there." "He is not worthy of you, Hayley. I keep wondering when the time will come and you will see that as well." "It's not like he has abandoned me or anything. We're just…we're not as we used to be." "And what would be the reason for that?" Hope looked up and Hayley told her, "Sweetie, your Daddy and me are going to be in the kitchen, alright?"_

 _The moment Hope nodded, Hayley headed over there and Klaus followed. He smirked as he saw the mistletoe hanging from the door. "Interesting…I don't suppose you put it to good use?" Hayley blushed and got angry but she couldn't help but smile a little. "Shut up." She muttered and turned around to deal with the cake she had baked. It was not much, but she did do her best. A giggle escaped her mouth as she thought about the Christmas she had spent with Hope the other year and how she had tried to bake cookies and set the whole kitchen on fire. Her smile disappeared however, when she remembered how Jackson was the only one who had been really upset about it and had lashed out at all of them. At once, Hayley looked up and noticed Klaus was leaning against the doorframe with his hands crossed over his chest, observing her. "What?" she asked, much softer than she expected to. He was Klaus. Since when was she this soft with him?_

" _Nothing at all. I am simply enjoying looking at you." Hayley cocked her head to one side and smirked. "Careful, Mr. Mikaelson. Another side of you is showing." "Which side?" "The caring side. Now, do something for me, will you? Actually, for Hope." Klaus smirked and said, "Anything for you and for our daughter." "Take a bite and tell me what you think." She didn't even think it through. She cut a piece of the cake and brought it over to him in the doorframe and he bit into it from her hand. Their eyes met and Hayley had to stop herself from blushing yet again. What the hell was going on with her? He chewed slowly but his eyes remained connected with hers as their faces were brought closer. "You want my honest opinion?" "Yes." "It's absolutely delicious." He whispered and wrapped his arms around her, making Hayley drop the rest of the piece of cake on the floor. His lips met hers in a soft kiss. She moaned into his mouth almost at once, realizing how much she wanted to feel him like this again._

 _After so many years, they could give into their passion once more. Her arms went up his chest and felt him as he continued kissing her gently. Finally, she pulled away and he rested his forehead on hers, breathing in deeply. "How is that for an honest opinion, little wolf?" "What are you talking about?" "I want you." "Mommy?" Hope was standing right behind them, gawking at what she was seeing. "Oh…um…Hope…" Hayley tried to think of an explanation but she couldn't find any. "Mommy, what are you and Daddy doing?" There was a huge smile on the little girl's face. Klaus chuckled when he saw that Hayley had no words coming out of her mouth. "Your mother and I…" he started saying but Hayley cut him off. "Your Daddy and I were following traditions, Hope. And it is tradition to…uh…kiss under the mistletoe." She pointed at the mistletoe hanging above the doorway. Hope continued smiling, nodded and walked back to her presents in the living room._

 _Once she was gone, Hayley turned back to Klaus, who was already holding her by her waist and he kissed her once more. She couldn't resist and kissed him back, feeling absolutely refreshed. Her heart was beating like it hadn't beaten in a very long time. She felt complete…she felt whole. "Hayley." He murmured her name and kissed her again. "Klaus…" she whispered back, but the sound of her voice was different from his. It was more of a warning. She put her hands on his chest to stop herself. Shaking her head, she managed to say. "This can't happen. It's too much, Klaus. It's way too much." "What do you find too much?" "I'm married to Jackson. Have been for years and now you…" "I'm not doing anything you wouldn't want, little wolf." She didn't know how to respond to that statement. "Klaus…" "Just trust me." "I can't abandon Jackson." "I understand." "No, you don't." "I do…just trust me."_

…

Hayley rubbed her forehead and let the tears stream down her face. This was exactly how it had started with them and for a whole year, Klaus had been trying to convince her that he was the best solution as a father-figure for Hope and that Jackson had to leave the family. Hayley was almost certain to think that the only reason he had kissed her was to try to get in between her and Jackson so that Hope would no longer have a step-father, his worst fear. And she had trusted him. For a whole year, he had been somewhat courting her, breaking Cami's heart and angering Elijah. But Hayley would have been lying to herself if she said that she didn't have any feelings for him. She did, and she wanted him just as much as he was starting to want her. She remembered one night, Jackson confronting her about Klaus, and she had denied everything. But she knew he knew she was lying.

She knew that what she had been doing was not good for their child. They had to be careful, because Hope was already in a weird enough family as it was. One night, a few weeks before, he had confessed to her, everything. Hayley could remember his moist lips against hers and the way he made love to her so passionately that she craved him so much. That was the night he told her he was going to find a way to break apart her marriage to Jackson, and she agreed to it. She wanted to be with him…she wanted to offer her daughter a safe and healthy environment with her parents together too. But most importantly, she wanted to be free from a marriage she no longer wanted to be in. But she never thought that Klaus would go this far…and when she did confront him…he didn't even bother defending himself.

" _I am pleased to see this is what you truly think me capable of, little wolf." Klaus whispered and watched as Hayley threw the glass against the wall. "Just admit it! Say it! YOU KILLED HIM!" she screamed at him and let the tears gush out. His face was completely emotionless, and then she saw the look of anger on his face. "Tell me. Please tell me that I am wrong and that I am making a mistake. Tell me that I'm making a mistake, Klaus. Please…just tell me." She went closer to him and cupped his face in her hands. "Did you kill Jackson?" She let out a soft whimper as she held on to him tightly. She thought that he would at least show her any kind of emotion…but he showed none. "So what if I did?" he finally said the words which jabbed into her heart._

He had confirmed it…indirectly, but he did, nonetheless. Hayley kissed her sleeping daughter's forehead and saw that they had arrived in the bayou, just in time for the funeral. "Mommy, is Jackson here?" Hope asked softly, showing her that she was awake. "Yes, he is, sweetie. I have to…I have to talk to some people here, okay? Will you wait for me in the car?" "Okay." Hope wiped away the sweat on her forehead. "Good girl." Hayley stepped out and compelled the driver to take care of her daughter until she would be back. She knew that she had to make this quick. She hated leaving Hope alone. She made it to the river, where Jackson was being buried, and she held her head down, and said her last goodbyes, as the wolves watched her. Hayley knew that a showdown would be coming up any minute now, and she had to be prepared.

"Your child's father…the one you keep protecting is an everlasting cruel and cold beast. Keep him away from us, or you will regret it." A woman whispered to her and Hayley frowned, grabbing her hand and hissing, "Who do you think you are to speak to me like this!" "Your people, the people you have turned your backs on for Klaus Mikaelson…and now he has killed our leader…and you are no longer our Queen!" Another wolf exclaimed, the others agreeing with him. "Gladly!" Hayley snapped and headed back towards the car, ordering the driver to take her as far away from New Orleans as possible. She had nothing left there anymore.

…

Freya took a deep breath before she finally found the courage to enter Klaus' chambers. She had the time to call Rebekah and Marcel and have them come back from their travels to hear the tragic news of Jackson's death and how Klaus was found responsible. But Freya knew better. "Brother!" she said and saw him leaning against the window, looking out into the night. "She left." Was all he whispered and Freya nodded. "Yes." "Good!" "Klaus, you can't keep doing this! You have to tell me…!" "Whenever a tragedy occurs, I am the one held responsible, whether I have truly done it or not!" "And I know you haven't. I need you to tell me why you would make Hayley assume that you have! Have you completely lost your mind? She is travelling away…with your daughter…" "I promised my daughter the best of everything and she will have it…away from here!"

"Klaus…" "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD! AND IF ANYONE MENTIONS THE NAME HAYLEY MARSHALL AGAIN UNDER THIS ROOF, THEY WILL WISH THEY HADN'T!" He yelled from the rooftops and even the fearless Freya took a step back and gulped, with her eyes fixed to the ground. "She will be sending Hope to us through magic, according to the visiting times, as they were scheduled before." "LEAVE!" Klaus roared and Freya finally looked up into his eyes and whispered, "Elijah was right about you. Any chance of happiness you get and you drive it away…hide from it. You should really be ashamed of this." Klaus turned his back towards her and lifted a canvas, throwing it against the wall in anger. Freya left the room without saying anything else.

As soon as she did, she saw Elijah standing there, with his hands in his pockets. "You're not off the hook." Was all she could say. She brought him in a corner and told him, "I have had visions of you, my dear and noble brother. I have seen it all. The question is, are you going to do something in order to fix this mess or are you just going to stand there with your hands in your pockets and pretend like nothing had happened? Are you going to let your brother take all the blame because of all his insecurities in life? Are you going to let Hayley lose her position as Queen to those wolves and let her move away for good?" "I don't…" Elijah started saying but Freya cut him off. "No. Save it, please, just save it. You've done enough. Think about it for the night. Think about how much Hayley is hurting…think about your brother's happiness as well…and Hope."

Elijah gulped and took one hand out of his pocket and pointed it at her. "What do you know, Freya?" "Everything, Elijah. Absolutely everything. I saw you in my visions. I saw it all, and how cruel you could possibly be." "I was not…that is not true. You have it completely wrong, sister. My intention was…" "It had to do with Hayley, I know. Something in your life always has something to do with Hayley. For your own sake, think about what you have done and when you are ready to confess, do it, but do it fast, otherwise, I will expose you, Elijah. I will. Because I know what your brother and Hayley had, and it's not lost. Not yet. But I won't let them lose it."

…

Camille O'Connell sat in her apartment, with her hands between her knees. The holiday had been a devastating moment in her life once…because of her brother. Sean had died only a few days before Christmas, and she had planned to do so much with him. Her heart was set to have a special family dinner with him and her uncle in a city where no human should live…and she failed. She failed at doing what was right…and she failed…hoping that anything in this town could be considered as normal, in any point of view. Now…she was left alone. A few months ago, she was almost certain that she would get to spend Christmas with the Mikaelsons, but after the most unfortunate events led to Klaus abandoning her for Hayley, she decided to distance herself from the family.

There was a piece of paper in her hands to which she held onto tightly. This was an opportunity to help people in need, because that was what she known for around here. Taking a deep breath and knowing that she would have no place, and no people expecting her, she grabbed her coat and headed out of her apartment. The cold winter air had her frozen to the spot and she almost lost the paper with the chilly wind running through her gold locks. The homeless shelter wasn't very far from her place so she knew that with the days to come, she would be helping people in need, without needing to worry about when and how she would get home through the blizzard. As soon as she entered that place, warmth and sadness filled her up. A lady smiled at her and asked, "May I help you? Are you here to visit someone?"

"No. I saw this add in the paper and I understand that you are looking for volunteers…for the people in need around here. I thought that I would help out." The lady smiled and nodded. "We are very glad that you came to us, Miss…" "Cami." "Yes, Cami. I am very happy, seeing as how we have put the add up a week ago, it's almost Christmas time and you are the very first volunteer to walk in here." "That's terrible!" "I know. It would seem that nobody is in the mood to be generous or thoughtful of people in need anymore." "I have been doing this my whole life, and with the holidays coming up, I am doing it so I can get some inner-peace myself." "Had a trouble-filled year?" "Yeah, you can say that. Plus a relationship I thought would work out, but it didn't." The woman nodded and whispered, "I believe you have come to the right place. There are people here with terrible experiences, people you can relate to, and some others who can comfort you, just like you're here to comfort them. I can promise you that you are doing a good deed and it will not be a waste of your time."

"I would never think of it as a waste of time." "Well, we hope not. Let me show you around." The woman said and led her through many rooms, where old people were eating the soup provided for them at this hour. But not all of them were old. Some of them were children as well, and Cami felt pain in her heart as she looked at them. They were innocent people…innocent but life has been cruel to them. "We do the best we can for them. Tomorrow, I will be able to assign you to someone so you can take care of him and her throughout the holidays. And I just hope that we will have more volunteers soon."

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 **A/N: What do you think of it as a first chapter? How will Hayley go through the holidays after Jackson's death? How will Elijah deal with his own problem? Will he confess, or will he keep the secret to himself, letting his brother blame himself?**

 **Thank you for reading and please leave me reviews!**


	2. Original Disaster

**Previously, on** **DNA** **, Klaus and Hayley had a fallout in their relationship when Klaus was to blame for the death of Jackson, so close to Christmas. Hayley was forced to lie to her now 6 year old daughter, Hope and leave New Orleans with her, on their way to California, after Hayley had paid her respects at her former husband's funeral and had lost her title as Queen of the Crescent Wolves. Freya discovered something in her visions of Elijah, while Cami is now prepared to do something for the homeless people in the shelter, as a way to cleanse her soul for the New Year.**

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 **PLOT: Freya tries to get through to Klaus once again, demanding him to see reason, only to have him push her away once more. Cami finds comfort in knowing that she would be helping out an old woman, with a sad history of her own. In order to get rid of his bad karma, Elijah takes Freya's advice and tries to clear his mind, by doing what he does best, meeting someone unexpected. Rebekah and Marcel leave to visit Hayley and Hope in California, while Klaus finds comfort in another woman.**

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Freya figured that Hayley had already reached her destination the next day. She tried calling her but she wouldn't answer. She was also an aunt, worried about her little niece. But a different phone call made Freya excited to answer it, just as she was making her way to Klaus' chambers. "Rebekah, I am so happy that you've come back to me." _"Well, then, I suppose you can understand that you just disturbed something very special and exciting between Marcel and I. This better be good."_ "It is. Something has gone wrong and because of that something, Hayley has taken Hope and they are on their way to California as we speak." Freya could hear Marcel's panicky voice from the other end but Rebekah cut him off. _"What? What happened? What the bloody hell is going on?"_ "Niklaus…he…it is believed that he killed Jackson." _"Jackson is dead?!"_ "Yes. He was found dead at the Lafayette Cemetery by the witches. What makes it worse is that our dear brother is not even trying to defend himself. That just determined Hayley to leave."

" _But I can't understand. If Niklaus did kill Jackson…how could he? He and Hayley had something going on."_ "Yeah, and people think that triggered something in Klaus and determined him to kill Jackson so that he can have Hayley all to himself." _"That is what people think, but what exactly do you think?"_ Freya pursed her lips. She knew what she saw, and in her visions, it was Elijah, and like his own brother, the noble stag refused to defend himself. He simply gave her a warning not to tell anyone, and Freya was not planning to, not yet anyway. _"Sister, are you still there?"_ "Yes. I don't know what to believe, Rebekah. I am just as confused as you are." _"Where is Nik?"_ "He has locked himself in his bedroom." _"And he doesn't react to Hayley taking Hope and running away…again?"_ "No. On the contrary. He thinks that it would be best if he stayed out of Hope's life for a while."

" _Well, it's official that my brother has gone completely insane. And what was Hayley thinking? Leaving like that?"_ "She is not in hiding, Rebekah. I know perfectly well where she is going and where she will be staying with Hope. She wants me to use my magic in order to transport Hope from California to here so that she can still visit her father regularly, but…she doesn't want to see Niklaus or this city ever again. She wants to stay away." She could hear a sigh on the other line and Rebekah finally said, _"Fine. What do you want me and Marcel to do?"_ "Head over to California and see if you can talk things out with Hayley, until we know what is really going on." _"She has been married to Jackson for many years. She may have not been in love with him but he was a big part of her life, and Nik, the man she does love, has ruined that for her. I wouldn't want to see that son of a bitch either if I were her."_

"I just want for us to resolve this calmly. I know that Hayley will be back, but right now, she needs time to cool off. What upsets me most is that it is almost Christmas time, and we have already made preparations to dine and enjoy it as a family, as we have done every year since Dahlia's defeat. Jackson's death was a tragedy, but it is a tragedy that I want to be solved as soon as possible. I want Hayley and Hope back and I know that deep inside his heart, Niklaus wants that too." _"What does he expect if he was the one who killed Jackson?"_ Freya refrained herself from saying anything about Elijah and just whispered, "Get to California. I will send you the address. Talk to Hayley and then get back to me. I have my own problems to deal with here." With that, Freya ended the conversation once she heard another roar coming out of Klaus' Art Room. Apparently, he had chosen not to sleep at all that night, since his sheets were untouched.

She didn't bother to knock on the door and just entered into his room of inspiration, which was now covered with dark red paint the color of blood. Blood was what Freya knew Klaus always painted when he was in a foul mood. She crossed her hands over her chest and tried not to look fazed by what she was seeing. "Upset?" she asked softly and Klaus growled once again, turning around to look at her. Pointing a finger forward, he whispered, "I don't want anyone in here. Not even you." "Fine. I just wanted to know what your plans are for Christmas. Even with the recent…problems, let's call it that…Hayley has agreed to send Hope here to see you. By her leave, she is not keeping Hope from you, brother. She will be here, and we need to make it look like everything is fine and well, for the sake of the family." "I don't want it to look like anything. Hayley is a coward. She should look our daughter in the eye and tell her what she has always thought…that her father is a cold-blooded murderer and that will never change."

"You know that is not what she thinks. Brother, you led her to believe that you killed her husband! She is temperamental just as you are. She has traveled away to get her head straight because she can't even control her own life right now and she is a mother! And I know that you are not responsible for Jackson's death. I want you to take some time to clear your head. Then, I want you to call Hayley, tell her that you didn't kill Jackson and we will…find out who did." "I am not calling her. I don't want to hear from her again. She has made her choice. She has shown what she has thought of me all along, and no doubt my own daughter will think of me the same way when she grows up." "For God's sake, Klaus! You haven't even defended yourself! She would have believed you if you had just told her the truth! What is wrong with you? Why do you always want to play the victim in situations?" Freya exclaimed.

When he didn't respond, that was her cue to stop, so she took a deep breath and pulled out a list from her pocket. "You are being selfish here, you know. Your daughter is expecting a good old family Christmas as always." "Then Hayley shouldn't have made assumptions." "You have given her reason to. Now…I want you to take this list and fill it with the food you want prepared for our annual Christmas Feast." "There won't be any feast! I don't want any of this, Freya!" he threw the list on the ground and she picked it up. "Fine. I will do it myself!" Freya snapped and took the list in his hands, heading out of the Art Room. On her way out, she ran into Elijah again, who had the guilty look on his face. "If you aren't going to admit to your mistakes, the least you can do is help me with the shopping list for Christmas." "I don't believe there are people in this family who are in the mood for holiday spirit, Freya." "You mean you aren't. And neither is Nik, and whose fault do you think that is?"

Elijah didn't answer and Freya searched through her pocket until she pulled out an ad, and handed it to him. "Feeling like helping out some homeless people?" she asked him and Elijah took it, looking over it. "What is this supposed to be?" "There is a homeless shelter, not far from here that still needs volunteers." "What for?" "Helping, in any way that you can. I was thinking that maybe if you spend some quality time there, it will open your mind and it will determine you to do the right thing." "And what exactly is the right thing in your eyes?" "The right thing? Tell the truth, Elijah." When he didn't answer, Freya pointed at the ad. "Either you head over there or you're coming shopping with me. It's your choice, but I want you to leave Niklaus alone for now." Elijah sighed and looked over the ad once more.

…

"Eleanor Tate. Do you know her?" The woman asked Cami the next morning, when the blonde stepped into the homeless shelter. "Um…no." "Okay. She is going to be under your care for a couple of days now. I have already informed her and from my description of you, she seems to like you already." Cami tried to force a smile, and she succeeded, as the woman in charge led her over to room 41. There was someone under the covers of a bed. "Eleanor. Your Christmas guardian is here to see you." The woman whispered and the blankets were pulled at once. The person there was an elderly woman with a small smile on her face, which revealed braces. "We had to fix her teeth in some way." Cami was informed and she nodded. "Is this the Cami?" Eleanor asked and the woman smiled and nodded. "Yes. She is the girl who volunteered to help you through Christmas." "It's very nice to meet you." Cami said softly and then turned to the woman in charge.

"What exactly am I supposed to do here?" "Well, you stay as long as you like, but we recommend a minimum of four hours a day, if that's alright." "Of course. I have nothing better to do, so I guess it's fine. I can stay for as long as she needs me." "Okay. You get to read her the books that we brought in for her, you can feed her, and help her change in new clothes. As for the bathing, we won't ask you to do that. We have specialists brought in." Cami immediately shook her head and asked, "Wait. I understand that she is an elderly homeless woman but I don't think that means that she is incapable of doing things such as bathing, right?" "Well, she is paralyzed from the waist down." Cami covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God! How did that happen?" "She was in a car accident and…well, she can tell you more. I will let the two of you get to know each other better."

Before the woman could leave Cami and Eleanor, she turned back around and with a small smile on her face, she said, "I forgot to tell you that we just got a new volunteer today. He seemed very eager to start, and because neither one of you have ever done this before, I have decided to put both of you in charge of Eleanor. Out of all of our patients, she is the one in desperate need of affection." "Oh." Cami seemed somewhat disappointed, because she really wasn't in any mood to start making friends with other volunteers. "Who is the new helper?" she finally asked and the woman checked her sheet. "He said his name is Elijah Mikaelson. I will send him over right away." Cami wanted to protest but the woman was already gone. This was worse than making friends with other volunteers. She had promised herself that she would stay clear of the Mikaelsons from that moment on, but now that she had volunteered, she couldn't just leave. It would be worse than not volunteering at all.

What troubled her even more was that she knew what Elijah had done. Freya had taken the time to call her after Hayley's departure and she told her everything about her visions of Elijah being the true person to blame for what happened. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe in deeply. How could she be able to stand in the room with this guy, knowing that he was responsible for the troubles, and Klaus was the one getting blamed for it, meanwhile? "Right this way!" The woman exclaimed and led Elijah through the door. He arranged his suit and stood there, looking over at the blonde in front of him. "Camille! What a surprise! I didn't expect to see you here." "Why? Am I not the giving type." "You are, but…I did believe that after your incident with my brother, you would no longer wish to grace us with your presence." "I am gracing it whenever I want. I just can't understand what you're doing here…after all that has happened."

Elijah kept his hands in his pockets and whispered, "I am here as a favor to Freya. She insists that I take some time to myself before Christmas to reevaluate my life, let's say." "And will you do that?" Cami asked, as she crossed her hands over her chest defensively. Eleanor was watching them from the bed carefully. "Camille, are you suggesting something…between the lines?" "I know, Elijah. Freya told me, and I don't agree with what you're doing. I came here so that I can start feeling good that I can help people again, and I don't want you to stand in my way, okay?" "That was not my intension." "Do what you need to do, but that is final." "Camille…" "No, Elijah!" "You cannot possibly begin to understand…" "I understand alright. I understand that you…" "ENOUGH!" a loud yell could be heard from the bed and both Elijah and Cami turned to see Eleanor there, with a frown on her face. "You two kids can take it up outside, but I won't have any fighting in my dorm, is that clear?!" Elijah and Cami stared at her for a moment before they both replied, "Yes, ma'am."

…

"Are you sure she's here?" Marcel asked as he checked the paper where they had written the address. "It has to be here. And it is a nice place too, much nicer than that old compound in New Orleans. What would we all do without compulsion?" Rebekah asked with a smirk as she rang the bell. After a few moments, Hayley opened the door and gasped, never expecting to see the two of them there. "Rebekah! Marcel! What…?" "Auntie Bekah!" Hope exclaimed as she stepped on the porch and flung her arms around the blonde Original. Rebekah grinned and pulled Hope into her arms. "How are you, honey?" "Mommy said that we had to come here. But I miss Daddy." Hope responded and Rebekah's eyes met Hayley's in disappointment. "Are you okay? I heard what happened. If there is anything we can do…that is why we're here." Marcel put his hand in a warming way on Hayley's shoulder and she smiled at him, sadly. "Thank you. But I don't think that there is anything that you can do."

"Sure there is. We are here on Freya's orders to get your head together and convince you to come back." "I can't go back, Rebekah." Hayley whispered and led Hope inside, finding her something to color in her room, while she, Rebekah and Marcel talked. "You have to listen to me about Nik." "No, Rebekah. You have to listen. I put my faith in a man I thought would…I thought…I don't even know what I thought." "You and Niklaus have always had a special connection and despite both of your romances with different people along the way, I always knew that something would happen in the future. There were too many unresolved feelings between the two of you. Hence, you broke Elijah's heart and he broke Cami's." "And I went along with it, because I felt something for him. I agreed to see him behind Jackson's back. I finally cheated on my husband after six years of marriage, and now I find out that he was killed by the man I was cheating on him, with."

"Freya said that she is going to work the whole thing out, so that you and Hope can come home for Christmas." "I will be sending Hope, Rebekah, but if you're waiting for me to come, you are wasting your time. My life in New Orleans was over from the moment Jackson died and my position as Queen was taken from me, all because I was impregnated by and then fell in love with Klaus Mikaelson." "What did Klaus say when you confronted him about Jackson?" Marcel asked her. Hayley shrugged, "I yelled at him and he showed no reaction and then when I asked him calmly one more time, like I didn't want to believe that he would do something like this to me…he asked me so what if he did it?" "He said that?" Rebekah asked, surprised. "Yeah. And that just confirms it all, doesn't it? It confirms that he was the one who drove my husband to his death. When he said those words…the only thing I could think of was to get out of there as soon as possible and I wouldn't leave Hope."

Marcel groaned and sat up from the couch. "Look, I know Klaus is the mass-murderer of the universe and I know what people think of him…but hey…he wouldn't kill that Jackson guy. He wouldn't." "Why wouldn't he?" "Because I know how he feels about you, and Jackson was your husband. It's just not his style. If you hadn't shown your care towards Jackson, he would have been dead with the way Klaus always hated him…but he practically welcomed the guy into his family after you married him, a guy he hates. Do you really see someone like Klaus Mikaelson do something like that? He cares for you, Hayley. Why would he kill Jackson now, after six years?" "Because I gave him hope." Hayley whispered. "What?" "Because I gave him hope that…we kissed last Christmas and things escaladed from that moment on. I thought… he thought…I can't even say it!" Rebekah wrapped her arms around Hayley, comfortingly. "It's okay. You fell in love with him." Hayley let a few tears fall but wiped them away at once. "The only thing I feel right now is hatred. I never want to see him again." Hayley whispered.

"No, you don't mean that. You need to think about this, Hayley. You need to think about Hope. Think about what it would mean for her if she were to have a nice Christmas with her family. Think about all of us. Please." Rebekah begged her. "There is nothing that swims through my mind at that moment other than the fact that my husband is dead and the man I have feelings for, the father of my child, killed him." Hope stood up from the floor and sat down on Hayley's lap with a drawing in her hands. "Look, Mommy! I drew a Christmas tree, with you and Daddy!" Hayley's heart skipped a beat when she saw Hope's very messy drawing of her, in Klaus' arms, and there was mistletoe on top of them. "Oh, honey, it's just beautiful!" Rebekah complimented her. "I saw Mommy and Daddy like this last Christmas. Happy!" Hope told her and Rebekah turned to see Hayley completely confused and a bit angry. "Hope, sweetie, Mommy has to discuss something very important with Auntie Bekah and Uncle Marcel, okay? Why don't you go back and decorate the Christmas tree?" "I want to build a snowman…but there is no snow!" Hope said and she got upset, racing out of the living room.

"Out of all the places you would go, you chose to come to California for Christmas?" "Rebekah, please don't start. I thought quickly." "And now you are keeping Hope here like she is some kind of prisoner. She wants to be with her family back home. I promise you that if you come back, we can work it out, for the sake of the family and if he is found guilty, I will personally make sure that Niklaus pays." Marcel shook his head. "No. If he killed Jackson for real, I'm going to deal with him myself." Hayley put her hand to her mouth. "You're asking me to go back home and face him." "Yes. Please. He needs you and Hope in his life…no matter what." "And I didn't need Jackson to die! He deserved better…so much better than what I had to offer him." "Look, the bottom line is that Freya explained Niklaus hasn't left his room since you left. Seeing such regret and guilt in him…" "It won't change what he did! And I am sure he has found Cami's shoulder to cry on already, like he always does."

…

Freya pushed the door open and glanced at the vampires, who were just sitting around, playing poker. She dropped all of her bags onto the ground and put her hands on her hips. "I really could use some help, you know?! Lend me a hand this instant!" The vampires looked at each other and then one by one, they came forth and picked up the Christmas decorations. Freya smiled, realizing that they had been bored out of their wits, and were pleased to be doing something they were asked for once. "I need to salvage what is left of this Christmas." After giving out her instructions, she raced up the stairs and once again, didn't bother to know on Klaus' bedroom door and just entered. The sight before her made her mouth drop. As usual, when he was upset and in dire need for attention, he had a woman pleasuring him in bed.

"Niklaus!" the girl squealed from under the sheets and he chuckled. "Brother!" Freya exclaimed all of a sudden and the movements stopped, Klaus revealing himself. "Yes, sister? Is there a problem?" "Yes, there is a problem! I have Christmas plans and you don't give a damn! The least you can do is try to fix the mess you got us into as usual!" "I got us into no mess. If you wish to point fingers, why don't you do it at the former Queen of the wolves, who has decided to be a coward once again and leave the city with my child? Or perhaps you should point your finger at Jackson's corpse, if you find it." Seeing the look in his eyes and realizing that there was almost nothing that she could do at that moment, Freya let out a huff and slowly turned around, heading out the door. She received a text from Elijah, telling her that he had accepted her proposal to work at the shelter for the time being.

Klaus got out of bed, in the meantime and grabbed a glass, pouring himself some wine. The girl whined in the bed and whispered, "When are you coming back already? Your sister is so annoying!" Klaus smirked and responded, "There is more where that came from, love!" "My name is not love! It's Lizzie!" the girl told him, drunk. Klaus didn't seem at all fazed by her response and just brought the glass to his lips, taking a sip and doing his best to avoid the thought of the mesmerizing hazel eyes and gorgeous olive-colored skin of the one Hayley Marshall. The simple thought of her away from him, made him pour even more wine down his throat. If he was seen as the criminal…the criminal he shall be. Klaus smiled, a malefic plan coming into view. "Merry Christmas indeed." He whispered to himself.

* * *

 **A/N: Is Klaus going to do something he will regret out of anger? What will happen to Elijah now that he has volunteered to help an elderly woman at the homeless shelter? Will Cami expose him? Will Hayley finally come home and confront Klaus?**

 **Thank you for reading and please leave me reviews!**


	3. Punishment Without Requirement

**In the previous chapter, Klaus and Freya had a disagreement over how to handle the family after the tragedy of Jackson's death, which led her to start preparing for Christmas all on her own. Freya convinced Elijah to volunteer to help at the homeless shelter, as a way of clearing his mind and his soul, and think about his mistakes, after which he met Cami there, with the same exact goal. Rebekah and Marcel travelled to California to see Hope and to convince Hayley to come back for Christmas. Finally, Klaus was shown ignoring his problems and in the arms of another woman.**

* * *

 **PLOT: Rebekah and Marcel talk to Hope alone, and they learn more from a 6 year old girl than they ever expected they would. Klaus, in anger with himself and with Hayley, makes a decision to which there is no going back. Upon her acceptance to return to New Orleans, Hayley receive other shocking discoveries apart from Jackson's death. While Hayley deals with a bloody fight, Elijah and Camille have to take care of a great incident and have different opinions about it. Finally, the newest sweetheart of Klaus, Lizzie discovers something which turns everything upside down at the compound.**

* * *

 ****"There is nothing that we can say that will really persuade you to give this Mikaelson Christmas a try, huh? Not even for me? Not even for Freya?" Rebekah asked Hayley, as they watched Hope show Marcel the presents her mother had bought her to keep mind off of the fact that her Daddy was not on "holiday" with her. But the one thing that little girl loved to show around was her drawing of Klaus and Hayley near a Christmas tree and under a mistletoe, which made Hayley's skin crawl. "Damn you." She whispered, hoping that from wherever she was, Klaus would hear it. "Hayley?" "I can't go back, Rebekah. I will send Hope home this Christmas. Freya will do the spell to transport her back but I already told you that I have no interest whatsoever in going back. Rebekah played with her fingers. Her eyes met Marcel's and he gave her a warm smile. She wasn't going to give up. Rebekah had always been the glue, keeping her family together and that was not going to change this year, especially not with Freya's help.

"What's with that drawing of you and my brother Hope keeps flashing around loud and proud?" the blonde finally decided to ask the she-wolf, as she followed her to the new kitchen, where Hayley was preparing some hot cocoa and marshmallows to go with it. "She caught something going on between me and Klaus last Christmas." "Really? Did it have anything to do with you and him kissing under the mistletoe?" "Yes. He made some confessions to me that…left me caught off guard, and I was married to a good person at the time, who was trying to make things work between us, but I was making it difficult for him." "Hayley, you and Jackson didn't marry out of love." Rebekah put her arm around her, comfortingly, hoping that somehow she would start to realize that the marriage between her and Jackson was anything but real. It was a way for them to unite their packs, and they were good friends. It was never more than that.

"I know but it was my responsibility to try and make it work in any way possible. We had sex a couple of times and I remember how I was trying to force myself, to feel something…anything…but I couldn't. He was never enough for me and he felt that. He started spending more time in the bayou, while I was helping you guys out with whatever problems we had back then and when I would come home late, he would just stand there, yell at me and remind me that he was my family too, not just Hope and not just the Mikaelsons. He could never really understand why I would choose to ignore him and help you guys out." Rebekah scoffed and pulled away. "He must have been bloody jealous to react like that towards you. I appreciate all your help for my family, Hayley, but you should have done your best in that marriage too." Rebekah bit her lip and closed her eyes at once, realizing the words that came out of her mouth. She wasn't trying to blame her, and she had just done it.

"Okay, I get it." Hayley managed to get out of her mouth, rushing back towards the living room. "No, Hayley! Please just listen to me!" "I don't have to listen to anything, Rebekah! I don't have to listen because none of what you're telling me right now is fair. Nothing is fair! You haven't been married before to a man you know you could never love! And Jackson was a very good man who deserved to have a normal wife and children but instead, he got stuck with me. I wasn't even able to be faithful to him until the last minute, and because I gave in…because I gave up my heart to a man who didn't deserve it! He hurt me in ways no one has ever hurt me, not even my crappy adoptive parents! He broke every bone in my body and then he broke my heart!" Hayley said louder than usual and threw a chair at the wall, startling Hope. Marcel immediately picked her up and whispered some comforting words in her ear, before taking her in the upstairs bedroom.

Rebekah pointed a finger at Hayley and whispered, "I need you to calm down. Drink some tea, and take a deep breath. Think of what you have been fighting for so long, Hayley. You have been fighting for that little girl that is upstairs with Marcel right now. You do what is right. You bring her home for Christmas and you let me deal with the problem because I told you before, Niklaus is not going to come out of this unshaved, and I am going to make sure Elijah knows what to do." Hayley shook her head. "Don't bring Elijah into this." "I have to, Hayley. He is family, even if things didn't work out between the two of you. He still cares for you and wants the absolute best for you…and for Nik." Hayley took a deep breath and looked to see Hope taking Marcel's hand upstairs and dragging him back down. Her daughter's eyes did not meet hers and Hayley could see that she was upset with her. "I will think about it. But I turned my back on something…more like someone…and that is not going to change." Hayley explained and walked out onto the porch, wanting to be by herself.

"Auntie, Bekah! Is Mommy mad at me?" Hope asked as soon as Rebekah joined her and Marcel on the rug in front of the Christmas tree. "No, sweetie. Mommy is mad at herself." "Maybe Daddy can make her happy. I want to see Daddy." Rebekah eyed Marcel and then asked, "How does Daddy make Mommy happy, Hope?" At that moment, Hope grinned and showed them the drawing from earlier with the mistletoe. "Daddy was holding Mommy and Mommy was happy. Mommy liked kissing." Marcel chuckled and looked away. "She is smart." "Yes, she is. She takes after both of her parents. But right now, I really don't know what I should do." "How about we show this to Hayley one more time?" "She doesn't want anything to do with my brother anymore and that is understandable. He killed her husband, Marcellus." "Okay, okay…we will figure it out." "And what hurts her even more is that she still feels something for him and can't stop herself."

"I remember a time when we felt the same about each other." Marcel mumbled and kissed her earlobe, making Rebekah blush. "Yes, I remember that very well. We managed to look past our troubles and be together again but what Niklaus did, is something he can never take back and even though I realize Hayley will never accept him back…there must be some way in which we can make them understand that they have to do something for the sake of this little girl." At that moment, Hayley entered the house again and cleared her throat. Rebekah and Marcel let Hope on the floor to play with her presents and turned to her with hopeful smiles on their faces. "I will do my best. I will return home with Hope so that we can salvage something this Christmas. But I won't want him in my presence." Rebekah and Marcel both pursed their lips and Hayley watched them skeptically. "For the sake of this Christmas, please don't do anything." The young hybrid told them and the two looked at each other for a long moment.

"The subject will be brought up, Hayley. I know my brother. If he did do what everyone thinks he did, he must have done it with good reason. Otherwise, it's just not him…" "I don't care! I don't care! The only reason I am doing this is for my daughter. All of my decisions were based on what's best for my daughter. I have been a good mother and I intend to continue that. What Klaus did is unforgivable. He cost me everything I had, any strong connection that I had with my own pack. He cost me my relationship with him too. Maybe he was doing it with reason…but the truth is that no one deserves to die, no matter the reason! Especially not near Christmas! It's a time for peace and forgiveness!" Hayley snapped. She wiped away her tears when she saw that Hope was watching her closely now. "Let's get packing, Hope. We are going home to see Daddy." She whispered in defeat.

…

He was laying on his back, feeling the warm touch of a woman's fingers up and down his chest, as he laid down with her on the bed. It had been a night in which she had pleasured him in more ways than one and he was forever grateful, even though deep inside his heart, he could only wish that it was the hand of his little wolf, pressed against his chest and her face nuzzling into his neck in comfort. He almost groaned when he heard the voice of the woman next to him. "I wish we could do this more often." She whispered and pressed herself even closer to him. Klaus sighed stood up, pushing her hands off of him. "I would wish the same, sweetheart but unfortunately, I have errands to run." "What kinds of errands? Can I help you with anything?" she asked, stretching on the bed. Klaus simply buttoned his shirt and shook his head, leaving the room. Lizzie frowned and thought about following him, but changed her mind afterwards. But there was one place in the compound she was dying to see.

The door to his Art Room was usually locked, but since she had captured all of his attention until this moment, he must have forgotten to lock up. Lizzie pushed open the door and sneaked in. His most prized possessions were there, the paintings that he valued most. Curiosity overtook her and she stepped closer to what looked like a painting in the center of that room. It was not quite finished, but as Lizzie stepped closer, a humongous frown appeared on her face. She recognized this. She knew what this represented for her. It was mistrust from her new lover. He had made a promise to her, and now he broke it. Picking up the canvas, he noticed how carefully it had been painted and how he used his richest paint to bring out her hazel eyes and her radiating skin. "What do you think you are doing?" Klaus was at the door with his hands behind his back and an angry look on his face.

Lizzie immediately turned around, holding the painting in her hands and said, "You said that I could go anywhere I want around this house." "And you must have forgotten the part where I told you that this place is off limits to anyone." He stepped forward and snatched the painting from her hands, looking it over. Lizzie's lip trembled as she asked more darkly, "Is that her? Is that the hybrid girl who broke your heart? You said that you were over her now, that she left town, so why is her painting at the center of this room?" The way she was demanding answers from him, was not taken well by him. His eyes glowed amber in anger as he looked over the painting on which he had been focusing on for many days. He had wanted it to be perfect, absolutely perfect…his best work yet. He gripped it hard and he was sure that soon he would snap it in half, but his eyes diverted to Lizzie instead.

"You are to leave this room at once, do you understand me? GET OUT OF HERE!" he roared and the girl ran out, afraid for her own life. Everyone knew that getting the Original Hybrid mad at this point would not do anyone any good. Klaus threw the paining against the wall and left the room, locking it behind him. As he stayed pressed against the door, with his hand rubbing his suddenly very tired eyes, he glowed…with an idea striking him at once. He knew what he had to do. It was risky. It was dangerous…but he knew what he had to do. "Those wolves…" he whispered menacingly. They were responsible for his misfortunes…starting with Jackson. They were the reason he lost her…and he lost his desire to see himself happy with his own daughter. He wanted to be alone…for Christmas, which had once been his most favorite holiday of the year…and it was all their fault. Snapping his eyes open, he started rushing over to the main game room, where all the vampires were preoccupied with many useless activities these days.

None of them had families with whom they could celebrate Christmas, except with each other. Klaus clapped his hands together in order to get everyone's attention. The vampires' eyes widened as they saw him. He had spent a lot of time in his bedroom with his new sweetheart, and Elijah had left the compound and he had not returned since. The vampires were beginning to think that the Mikaelsons had finally lost their touch after Jackson's death. "LISTEN UP!" Klaus yelled out and the vampires all gathered around, setting down their cards and their board games, making sure that they showed him the proper respect and attention they had for his words. They knew better than to anger him, especially when his brother and sisters were not around to calm him down. "I have an announcement to make! Seeing as how the werewolves have not received the proper attention with the upcoming holiday…I suggest that you make them the subject of the next vampire catch!"

The vampires all looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what he meant. Klaus turned around and was prepared to leave but he growled, when he noticed that the vampires were just staring at him in awe, and not saying anything. "Have I not made myself clear enough?!" he asked them, menacingly. "What exactly do you want us to do with the wolves?" one vampire asked. "Well, they wanted our attention with the death of their alpha, and they will receive more attention from now on, for disturbing the peace! I suggest that you all take a trip down to the bayou and have yourselves a little wolf hunt!" "The Crescents? You want us to kill them?" another vampire asked in shock. "Not kill…perhaps torture…scare…I am certain that you know the ways. Show a little Christmas spirit…and have fun!" Klaus told them with a smirk before finally leaving.

"We're not actually going to do it, right?" a girl newbie vampire asked the others. "Do you want to get a stake in your heart, or what?" Another asked her and drank up the rest of the beer from the bottle before slamming it to the ground. "Those are the wolf family of Hayley Marshall. You remember the last time we went after them…what happened, right?" The girl argued and he smirked saying, "Look, the Mikaelsons own this town. Whatever they saw goes, and I think that the so-called Queen of the wolves is no longer one of the Mikaelsons' favorite people. So, let's just take this advantage and wipe out those mutts!" "YEAH!" The other vampires agreed, before they raced out of the compound, to the bayou.

…

Meanwhile, at the homeless shelter, Cami was distracted. She was forced to collaborate with Elijah, in order to take care of an elderly woman, this close to Christmas. Elijah would keep his eyes on her the whole time, trying to read her mind. This was the first time she could see the noble brother being scared out of his wits. She knew why. He didn't want anyone to know about what he did. He didn't want her to tell anyone and he may have been mad at his sister for blackmailing him to do this. "I thought you said that you like to help people." Cami whispered as they prepared the bath for the woman together. It was funny how it was one of the things they weren't supposed to do…but the professional got sick and they were Eleanor's best option. Elijah checked the water temperature and chose not to say anything. "So, you're not going to talk to me the whole time we'll be here? I thought that you…"

"Camille, I am not here in order to have various discussions with you. I am here to serve some purpose. I want to help. It has always been my desire to help people in need. I have searched for my brother's redemption for as long as I can remember. I will not give this up for anything." "So, you had to be blackmailed by your own sister so you would come here?" "Camille…" Elijah sighed but he didn't know what else he could tell her. "Lady Eleanor, your both is ready!" he called out and the woman sighed and nodded, trying to get out of bed, but Cami stopped her. "No. You must be careful." "I couldn't move even if I wanted to, dear. I can't feel my legs at all." Eleanor whispered and Cami could see the sadness in her eyes. She met Elijah's gaze, who was observing the old woman's pain as well. "Let us help you. That is why we are here." He told her and carried her over to the tub. "But this is not your responsibility, young man. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to have this nice girl here undress me. Wouldn't want to think that you're a pervert."

Elijah's eyes widened as he set down Eleanor on a chair and turned to Cami, who was blushing and now a giggle escaped her lips. "You believe this to be funny?" he asked her. "Yes, very, especially when it comes from an old woman. Now, can you please leave the room?" The blonde went over and held the door of the bathroom open for him. Elijah sighed and couldn't hide a small smile also appearing on his face. But just when he was about to leave, there was a loud noise of someone falling, heard from behind and both Cami and Elijah turned around to see that Eleanor had fallen off the chair and had hit her head hard against the tub. "Oh my God!" Cami exclaimed and rushed over to help the old woman. Elijah leaned over to her and bit into his wrist at once. Cami's eyes widened when she saw what he was about to do. "What are you doing?" she asked in shock.

"What does it look like? I am trying to heal her!" Elijah said and Cami looked over to see that Eleanor was whimpering and she was barely conscious. Cami grabbed his wrist and held it. "You can't do that! Elijah, it is too risky! You can't have all of these people know that you're a vampire." "Camille, you would be ridiculous to think that they don't know about the supernatural creatures here." "Most of them have been transferred to this city this here and they think you're just a normal guy. If they find out that you're one of them, they won't let you help anymore. They will kick you out! They think you will harm the patience!" "I am trying to help and my blood is the only thing that will help her gain consciousness after that fall. Let me!" He tried to get his wrist free, but Cami wouldn't budge and she continued to hold his wrist in her hands.

"Please don't do this to her! Let me get medical help! Please!" "What is the harm? What are you trying to do here?" Elijah asked, angry at her. "I am tired of all your supernatural solutions! Let her get proper medical treatment! Let it go, Elijah!" Cami then stood up and went over to the bathroom door, yelling out for help from there. The door to Eleanor's room opened and doctors came inside at once, as Elijah picked the elderly woman off the ground, and set her down on the bed, letting the doctors do their thing. As soon as no one was watching, Elijah grabbed Cami's arm and led her over to the back of the room, holding her in place. "What do you want now?" she asked and wiped away a small tear which escaped her eye. Elijah's mouth parted, not believing tears were threatening to fall from this situation. "She is going to be alright now. There is no need to worry." He assured her. Cami grabbed her arm and pushed him away from her. "It's not about what just happened."

"Then what seems to be your problem?" "The way you handle everything. I am tired of everything having to do with the supernatural world! I want things to be different. I want everything to be different, please!" The blonde nearly screamed at him and held her forehead. Elijah looked back to see that the doctors have done a fantastic job and have managed to heal the woman. "It's not such a bad injury. She was lucky. Any harder she would have hit her head, and she would have died." One doctor explained to Elijah and Cami. The woman in charge came inside with a medical file in her hands and her face in shock. "What has happened here?" "Um…she hit her head on the side of the tub." Cami explained right away. "And how could you have allowed this to happen? Weren't you watching her?" she asked her at once. Elijah immediately stepped in and said, "I am to be held responsible for this. This was my fault. I was not paying attention. Please, forgive us."

"This woman could have died! Do you understand that?" "Yes, we do. And we assure you that this will not happen again…Sydney." Elijah concluded, after looking at her name tag. Sydney huffed and wrote something down on her pad. "These people are brought here because they need help not more trouble. You will no longer be in charge of the bath but do you think you can handle the rest or should I just find somebody else?" "We can take care of it. No problem." Cami intervened and Sydney pointed a finger at her. "One last chance. Because your partner here is very charming." Sydney concluded and pointed at Elijah. Cami rolled her eyes and whispered, "Runs in the Mikaelson family." "Have you said something?" Elijah asked, just as charmingly. "Yes. Thank you…but we are not done." Cami told him.

…

"We are almost there." Marcel said and noticed that Hope was laying her head on Hayley's lap in the backseat. Hope yawned and Hayley kissed her forehead, as Rebekah watched them from the rearview mirror. "Nothing has changed." Was all Hayley could say and Rebekah escaped a small laugh. "It certainly has way more snow on the grounds, but you've been gone only for a few days, Hayley. What exactly would you have expected to find different?" "My pack." Hayley responded. Marcel and Rebekah looked at each other, but decided not to ask. Once on Bourbon Street, Hayley exclaimed, "Stop the car!" Marcel did as he was asked and he watched Hayley step out of the car and say to Rebekah, "You can take Hope to the compound. But keep her away from Klaus, if he shows up in a crazy-ass state or drunken one. That is not the example I want him to be for my daughter."

"But where are you going?" Rebekah asked her in confusion. "I am going to the bayou. I can sense that something is wrong and I just want to check it out." Hayley told her. "Okay. Be safe, alright?" "Will do. And keep me posted with whatever is going on at the compound. And if you see Elijah or Freya, ask them to rent that apartment from the side building of the Abattoir." "What? Why?" "Because I am going to live there." Rebekah looked at Marcel in surprised and then said, "Hayley, you can't be serious." "No, I am very serious. I want you to help me with that." "But you said…" "I said that I would come back and I would let Hope be a part of the family Christmas, but that doesn't mean that I will. I don't want anything to do with Klaus Mikaelson while I'm here, do you understand?" "Okay. Fine." Hayley closed the door and raced to the bayou at once. She could sense it. Her senses were even more heightened now that she was a hybrid. The deeper she got in that bayou, the louder the screams and her heart was beating unnecessarily.

"SAVE YOURSELVES!" a wolf cried out and ran out into the clearing where Hayley could catch a glimpse of him. It was the same wolf who had accused her at Jackson's funeral and was now looking at her with even more anger. His clothes were ragged and he was bloodied up everywhere. "This was all your doing! You did this to us! You are no wolf! You're no vampire! YOU'RE A BEASTLY WITCH!" he raged. Hayley rushed over to him and held him by the throat. "What is going on?" she asked him calmly. Before he could respond, more wolves were fleeing for their lives, some of them, women who were crying and trying to take the children with them. Hayley looked back and let go of the wolf's neck. Vampires were spreading around and rushing towards them. Her eyes glowed amber and she knew what she had to do. This was her pack and still her responsibility.

Her own rage couldn't be compared to any other measly vampire. Hayley rushed towards each vampire in her path and plunged her hand into the first one's pulling out his heart, while he bit the second one and he cried out in pain from the werewolf venom she had induced in him. All the vampires stopped in their tracks and looked at her, wide-eyed and in horror. Hayley wiped the blood from her lips and licked at it, whispering, "Never thought that I would be capable of this, huh, especially not so soon till Christmas?" "Please…he told us to terrorize those wolves. We just…" One other vampire said and Hayley snapped, "Who told you could lay your hands on my people?" "Klaus Mikaelson."

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 **A/N: A steamy confrontation between Klaus and Hayley will come up in the next chapter and you can only guess what will happen. Will the Mikaelsons ever get a peaceful Christmas? And what do you think about Elijah and Camille's bond? Will they grow closer and how?**

 **Thank you for reading and please leave me reviews!**


	4. Denial Of Reality

**Previously, in** **DNA** **, after much persuasion from Marcel and Rebekah and Hope's drawing, Hayley was convinced to drop her plan and come back to New Orleans for the Christmas holidays. Klaus pleasured himself in the hands of another woman which led to the revelation of a very special painting. He ordered the vampires to terrorize the Crescent wolves, while Elijah and Camille dealt with their first problem with the elderly woman, Eleanor Tate. Finally, after smelling her family out, Hayley ended up in the bayou, where she saw them being savagely tortured by the New Orleans vampires, and finding out on whose orders.**

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 **PLOT: Klaus is placed in a difficult spot when Rebekah and Marcel show up at his doorstep with his 6 year old child, waiting to be cared for and spoiled. Rebekah goes on a search for Hayley, and discovers something shocking, after which Hayley has her very first confrontation with Lizzie, who threatens her. After interacting with the man who killed her husband, Hayley demands to move into the apartment next door, while Klaus spends some interesting time with Freya and Hope. Finally, after a talk with Elijah, someone visits Cami in her dreams with a warning.**

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He didn't miss Lizzie one bit. She simply represented a way for Niklaus Mikaelson to kill time. He had heard the howls from the bayou and his heart ached. He knew what he did was a mistake. He commanded the torture and probably deaths of the wolves he had always hated, for getting in the way of his relationship with Hayley. He hated them, but they were still innocent people. "Enough self-torture!" Klaus nearly yelled at himself and threw his glass to the floor, turning around to grab another and pour himself a better drink. "FREYA!" he called his sister's name. He wanted to see her, realizing how much he had been neglecting her. But he did not hear her voice. He heard nothing. He was alone in the compound now. Turning his head sideways so he could get a clear view of the outside world, he growled to himself, remembering his dark words, _"Have yourselves a little wolf hunt."_ There was no doubt that Freya could have found out what he had done…and he would hear her yelling in seconds.

But it never came. Was it possible that she was in the bayou at that moment? There were footsteps which could be heard behind him and Klaus immediately turned around again to see that Elijah had walked by his room and he looked like he was in a hurry. Frowning, Klaus set down his drink, realizing that he hadn't spoken to his brother since Hayley and Hope's departure. "Elijah!" he called out and his brother turned around to face him, after much hesitation. "Niklaus! It is good to see you!" "Any particular reason why you are rushing out of here at this moment?" "What is it to you, brother?" "I am simply trying to make small conversation…" "We are not to make small conversation when you are responsible for Hayley leaving town with my niece." Elijah told him, with a serious look on his face. Klaus chuckled and wiped his thumb over his bottom lip. "Yes, of course. How could I have thought differently? Both you and Freya are under the impression that I am the one who ended Jackson's life."

Elijah felt something inside of his throat but he couldn't bring himself to say more than necessary. He couldn't say anything. "No, brother. Freya and I do not believe that you are the one who killed Jackson. However, you are still responsible for Hayley and Hope leaving, because you chose to lie and tell her that you have killed her husband. And I can never really understand why." Klaus pointed a finger at him to make himself seem more clear. "I absolutely did not say that I did kill Jackson. I let her assume…of course she assumed the worst of me! It was a test…a test to see if she truly believes that I am capable of doing such things…of doing something this terrible to her. She believed I have…and I let her. I let her have her own impression…and if she sees me as the monster, then she can go right ahead! See if I care!" "Niklaus, you are impulsive and unreasonable!" Klaus chuckled and nodded at his brother's words. Elijah was constantly checking his watch realizing that he had to terminate the conversation or he would be late.

His brother continued speaking. "I believed so as well…until I thought of it more carefully. I thought differently of Hayley. She was everything I ever wanted and everything I ever needed. I showed her the care and passion I had not shown any other woman. I welcomed her…given her very own special place in my heart, because I thought she was different. I thought she was unlike any other woman I've ever encountered. She understood grief, violence and supreme pain, because her past life has resembled mine. At the same time, she had managed to bring out the worst but also the best of me throughout the time…but her body as a wife belonged to Jackson at the time…and I know that you desired her…it was impossible for me to reach out to her. And then…year after year…everything changed and I renounced on Cami…because I saw Hayley in a different light. I craved her, and I took her. She wanted me just as much. Trust was something we broke and then rebuilt between us. Or at least I thought it had been rebuilt." Elijah licked his lips and looked at the ground.

"I really must get going, Niklaus. I understand you feel betrayed by Hayley's mistrust but imagine how she must be feeling, now that she is under the impression that the man she had grown to care for this much, was the one who killed her husband. When the time is right, you will know what to do, and you will be able to tell the truth." The last part, Elijah was beginning to wonder if he was referring to his brother or to himself. He checked his phone and realized that he had received a message from a desperate Cami. _Where are you? You're not seriously going to leave me here alone all day, are you? Eleanor wants me to read her a story, but she is getting bored with all her books. I told her you would like to tell her some of your many adventures and acquainting important people in your past. Please get over here._ Elijah smiled a little, almost able to hear the sound of her voice, scolding him as if he were just a child. "I must go, Niklaus." Elijah turned and left before Klaus could stop him and ask him where.

Checking his phone, he realized there were no messages left for him from Freya. Walking out into the parlor, Klaus couldn't help but smile when he saw all the decorations. Of course he knew that Freya had been the one to take care of everything, since no one was feeling the Christmas spirit any longer. He knew that he would have to seize an opportunity and thank her for standing by him…even through all of his mistakes. "DADDY!" he heard her voice…the voice of his little angel. Turning towards the entrance, he could see Rebekah and Marcel standing there, and Hope was dancing around with a stuffed wolf in her hands. "Sweetheart!" Klaus called out from the balcony and he finally made eye-contact with his daughter.

Hope grinned and immediately rushed upstairs and used her speed to land directly in her father's arms. "Daddy! Mommy and I missed you!" she exclaimed and Klaus held her tightly to him but his smile disappeared at the mention of Hayley. "Is that so?" he asked in a whisper and Hope pulled back, nodding. "Mommy took me on vacation. I told her that Daddy had to come and she said no but now we came home!" she spoke rapidly and hugged him again. He appreciated his daughter's efforts to speak as correctly as possible and she was too smart for her age. He was waiting to explore all the wonders of this miracle child, because the world has never had a tribrid before. "Daddy, why was Mommy mad?" Hope suddenly asked and Klaus snapped out of his trance. He didn't know how to respond, but the simple thought of Hayley made his heartbeat quicken and his eyes to darken. He was desperate to see her, but at the same time, he couldn't ever phantom to accept her back into his heart.

Rebekah and Marcel stepped forth and Klaus had to let go of his daughter in order to hug them both. He could sense that they both seemed distant and barely said a word to him, keeping their attention on Hope and he soon realized that they must have heard about Jackson. "Where have the two of you been?" he finally asked them and Marcel put his hands in his pockets. "We made a quick stop in all the great places this world has to offer…and then we got a call from Freya, telling us exactly through what tragedy Hayley had to go through and how she left town with Hope. Rebekah was insistent and we ended up sacrificing our vacation to search for Hayley and bring both of these gals home where they belong…but that doesn't mean that she is open to the idea of being a family with you again. That is out of the question, Klaus." Marcel warned him. "I really do not care what Hayley implies, as long as I get to see my daughter and she understands that she had no right to take her from me."

They all tried to lower their voices, because Hope was watching them closely…and she was smarter than she looked. They didn't want her to think that her family was arguing this close to Christmas. "We will talk about this later, Nik." Rebekah whispered and pulled out her phone. "Who are you calling?" Marcel asked her. "Hayley. She said that she was going to the bayou just to check on her pack, but I want to know what's next now that we're back." "Do you think that she would want to move in here again?" Marcel asked and Klaus cackled. "Over my dead body!" he hissed. Rebekah closed the call and looked worried. "She is not answering." "Maybe she's busy chatting with them." Marcel suggested. "No. They took away her right to be Queen after Jackson's death. Why would she want to stay longer than she should? Something's wrong." Klaus' mouth parted in realization of his order directly to the vampires…to torture and eliminate the Crescents.

"Something you would like to share with the class?" Marcel asked, noticing the look on his face. Klaus frowned and closed his mouth, saying, "No, I don't believe so. I do not care where Hayley is and what she is doing. Like I said before, the only thing that matters to me is that Hope is in my house and she is with me on Christmas, as every child should be." "Nik, please don't start." Rebekah whispered and looked over at the decorations surrounding her with a half-smile. "It's lovely. It's a shame I wasn't around to help Freya with it." She then paused and turned to Marcel. "You take care of everything here. I am going to the bayou to see what's wrong." "How do you know something's wrong? Maybe Hayley's just making conversation." "Like I said, I doubt that she would stick around to talk to the people who ruined her life…well, some of the people who ruined her life."

Rebekah made sure to frown at her brother before finally taking off, out of the compound and racing into the bayou as fast as lightening. The sight before her made her gasp. The werewolves all had blankets around them and they were shivering slightly, especially the children. Some vampires were trying to hide behind the trees, as some were laying dead on the ground, with their hearts pulled out of their chests, and now Hayley was holding on to another's throat, threatening to pull out his heart too. "Hayley!" Rebekah called out and everyone gasped and turned around to look at her. Hayley rolled her eyes and let go of the vampire she was holding. She brought the blood on her hands to her lips and tasted it savagely. "What do you want, Rebekah? I thought I told you to stay with Hope." "I was staying with Hope. She is at the bloody compound with Marcel and Nik! You didn't answer your bloody phone and I had to bloody drag my best boots through this horrid and bloody snow." "And repeating the word bloody countless of times doesn't make it look even more tragic."

"Are you mocking me?" Rebekah asked her with her hands on her hips. "Maybe. What do you want? I have something to deal with here." Hayley asked her one last time, getting frustrated. "What I want? I want you to come home? And why did you destroy three of them?" she asked, pointing at the vampires who were hiding. "Because they came after my family…and guess who put them up to it." Rebekah looked at Hayley as the hybrid girl pronounced his name, "The all-time leader of destruction, Klaus Mikaelson." "I don't think Nik…" "Well your Nik has been giving out these orders. If I hadn't gotten here in time, my pack would have been slaughtered, all thanks to your psychotic brother!" Rebekah sighed and looked over at the vampires who were still cowering. "What in God's name are you waiting for? Scram before I get my own perfectly polished fingers into your intestines and pull out some more of your precious little hearts!" she exclaimed, making the vampires run out of the bayou.

"Thanks for the threat." Hayley muttered under her breath. "So, what are you going to do with them?" Rebekah asked, pointing at the werewolves who were looking for help from them. Hayley shook her head and said, "They can handle themselves for now. I just did what I had to do because I am still a Crescent even if I lost my position as alpha after Jackson died." The tears were now threatening to fall from her eyes as she whispered, "He killed the man I married and now he sent his lackeys to murder the rest of my family. I can't believe…I can't believe that he would do something like this to me." "Hayley…" "NO! I WILL KILL HIM!" she raged and stormed out of the bayou with Rebekah high on her heels. The snow was not going to stop Hayley from getting the revenge she deserved. "Hayley, please, look at me!" Rebekah urged once she grabbed Hayley by her shoulders. "What? What do you want now? You want to stop me? That's the extent you would go to protect this bastard, huh, just because he's your brother?" "I am not protecting him. I just think I should remind you that you have a daughter in that compound."

"Then you better rush and get Hope out of there because there will be a blood bath and it will be now, whether it's in Hope's presence or not." Hayley warned. "HAYLEY!" Rebekah called out and then used her speed to catch up with her. The compound was quite, quitter than usual and Hayley could understand why. The vampires had no desire to show their faces again after what happened in the bayou. Hayley thought that it was for the best. She gasped as someone stepped in front of her. It looked like a girl with little to no respect for herself, dressed in clothes which could only reveal any man's desires. "I have no time for this…" Hayley begun but the girl cut her off and said, "He is over you! You don't have to rush back here anymore and beg him to take you back." She told her with an attitude.

"What are you talking about?" Hayley asked her, in the quietest way possible. "I am talking about your little slutty butt! You dare betray him like that and then run off with his daughter?! You should be ashamed of yourself for not even listening to his poor heart! But now he has me and that is how it is going to stay from now on so don't you go…AHHHH!" Lizzie screamed in pain as soon as Hayley's fangs made contact with her skin and she bit her. The venom raced through the girl and stopped her heart at once. "You were one of Klaus' twits? Now, he is going to lose someone, just as he ordered for me to lose my family." She whispered and set the body to the ground, storming inside the compound. She saw him downstairs, with his eyes in shock when he saw her. Marcel and Hope were nowhere to be seen and neither could Rebekah be seen, or Freya. "YOU BASTARD! YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" Hayley screamed with all her might before she lunged at him.

She threw in the first punch but Klaus grabbed it right away and set her down on the ground. "GET OFF OF ME! GET OFF!" Hayley yelled aloud and bit into his hand, making him yell out in pain but the hybrid venom could do nothing to another hybrid, especially the Original Hybrid like himself. "COWARD!" Hayley screeched and finally released herself from him. Seeing her in this state made his heart break for her. "YOU ARRANGED FOR MY FAMILY TO BE KILLED!" she yelled out again and threw in a few good kicks which sent him flying against the walls. He was too entranced by her to speak and too much in shock to move, as he let her throw in even more punches to his face. "FIGHT BACK!" she yelled out and punched his face again, making him bleed. Klaus remained against the wall, with his face covered in blood, but there was no intention for him to make a move against her. He couldn't, because of Elijah's words from earlier which racked his brain.

He knew he was at fault, at least partially for what was happening and to make things even worse, he had made a move against the people she cares about. Another punch from her came and she yelled out, "YOU COWARD! FIGHT BACK!" Suddenly, her fist was stopped by his own hand, who tried holding her in place again. In a matter of seconds, with a little more force applied from him, Hayley was pinned to his chest and she was unable to move. "Fight back. Fight." She whimpered this time, realizing that it was over. She took deep breaths and whispered, "You ruined my life. You bastard. You ruined it." Klaus took deep breaths too and leaned into her, whispering, "You should have never taken my daughter from me…again." Hayley let the tears fall from her eyes and pulled away, just as Rebekah and Marcel entered the compound again with Hope and Freya by their side. "What has happened here? Hayley, are you okay?" Freya asked, checking Hayley's injuries.

She shook her head and refused to say more than she needed to. "I want to leave." She whispered. "Hayley, you just got here." Marcel told her. "I can't stay here. The man behind me…he disgusts me…I can't pronounce his name…I don't want to know him…I don't want to see him. Please let me go." Marcel sighed when he heard Hope ask, "Mommy, why are you crying?" He got on his knees and told her, "Mommy is sick and she has to heal, okay, sweetie? You will stay here with Daddy for now. Okay?" "Okay." Hope responded, but her eyes were still on her mother, whom she saw, was hurting and she was trying to understand why. "We have set up an apartment for you already. But please don't leave the city. It's Christmas." Rebekah told her and Hayley nodded. "Fine. I will stay there, but you can't ask more from me."

Freya crossed her hands over her chest and with an angry look on her face when she faced her brother. "What?" Klaus asked her. "You know what. This is all your fault!" "It is not." "No? Then why are we in this mess, brother?" He didn't respond and just watched as Freya placed a hand on his cheek and immediately healed his wound. "She is going to move in the apartment next door, but Hope will stay here with you. That shouldn't bother you so much, should it?" "It won't." "Good. Because I am done trying to clean up your messes. And I have another bone to pick with my other brother." "What about Elijah?" Klaus asked. "You will find out soon enough. Now, can we please…for the sake of that little girl over there…can we please just have some peace and quiet?" Klaus looked over to see that Hayley was already leaving the compound after kissing her daughter's forehead. "Yes." He murmured.

…

"I must confess that I did not expect her to open up to us like that." Elijah said softly, as he led Cami to her apartment. She stopped just outside the door and leaned her head against the wall. "I know. I am still affected by what she told us. How is it possible that she has no family left? You mean to tell me that she is going to be all alone for Christmas? That we are all she has?" "Eleanor's brother killed all the members of their family before he got himself extensive jail time. And I have heard news that he even killed himself only after a few days of staying in there?" Cami frowned. "How could this happen? You have an option to kill yourself while doing jail time?" "Apparently so." Cami pushed a strand of hair from her face and said, "I still don't feel okay with this. She is sick. She is very sick. She has to have someone…" "If it makes you feel any better, I will look into it. Maybe there is a member of her family alive somewhere." Elijah said and Cami raised an eyebrow.

"Doing me favors? Is that your way of making sure that I keep quiet?" "What are you talking about?" "I am talking about your secret, Elijah. How much longer are you intending to hide it?" "I don't know...I don't know what you mean." He received a disappointed look from her, after which she whispered, "Listen, it's not good for you. I thought that what you always wanted was to help and protect people and you have a chance to do that. You do…you will be saving your brother and Hayley too. I know that this is hard for you. Believe me, I know what it's like to keep it hidden, but everything is going to build up inside of you and at one point, you're just going to explode. There is no way out, Elijah. Just trust me when I tell you this. It's Christmas." She whispered and without realizing it, she reached out to him and touched his chest with her palm. Elijah did not take his eyes off of her for a long minute, before finally stepping back and saying, "Goodnight, Camille."

He knew that she was right, and he did not want to have to deal with that right now. He had a new goal in his mind, and he had an old woman to take care of. He was determined to find a relative of hers…anyone, who could be there for her, in case her last moments on this Earth would be approaching. Cami bit her lip and opened her apartment door, went inside and closed the door, leaning her head back so she could relax for a second. A warm bath was about to do her good. She stripped herself of all of her clothes and relaxed in the tub, with her head laid back. The warm water was very soothing to her skin and to her mind, and she couldn't resist to just close her eyes and drift off for a moment. But as soon as she did, her mind closed up and she heard a soft voice in her ear.

" _He listens to you…but you are not safe. With such a Christmas come a price. Convince him to tell the truth, little sis, or there will be more to pay."_ The message came and Cami immediately recognized the voice very well. It was her late brother's voice, the one who died. "Sean." She whispered to herself and then immediately gasped and opened her eyes. She was dreaming. "Just a dream." She whispered to herself. This was the first time she had dreamed the voice of her brother, and he did warn her. He told her what would happen if she did not convince Elijah to tell the truth. However, she did hope that by telling him what she did, back there in that hallway, it was enough to convince him to at least think about it.

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 **A/N: I wanted the first confrontation between Klaus and Hayley to be exactly how it was in the second episode of season three, only with a few twists. Has Cami gone through to Elijah? Will he tell the truth that he was the one who killed Jackson and will we find out how and why? We certainly will.**

 **Thank you for reading and please leave me reviews!**


	5. Christmas Is Near

**In the previous chapter, Klaus and Elijah had an important conversation after which Klaus got to see his daughter back from her trip. Rebekah, worried about Hayley went off into the bayou to search for her only to discover the werewolves maltreated and some vampires dead, because of her half-brother. Hayley was forced to confront Lizzie, before killing her, right before showing strength and emotion in her fight with Klaus. In order to maintain peace for Hope's sake, Hayley agreed to move into the apartment next to the compound for the time being. Finally, knowing Eleanor's tragic past, Elijah and Cami agreed to do something to help her, after which the blonde received a peculiar message from her dead brother.**

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 **PLOT: Rebekah and Freya talk about the family status and add finishing touches to the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. Convinced by Marcel, Hayley shows up at the compound, demanding to talk to Klaus about all that has happened between them and the death of Jackson, turning into a fight after Freya works her magic. Meanwhile, Cami keeps her dream a secret from Elijah, as they work together to help Eleanor, and everything ends with a tragic night. Finally, Elijah makes an important decision for the sake of his family.**

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"It was tough but I am thoughtfully pleased that we managed to get on Hayley's good graces and convince her to stay." Rebekah whispered with a sigh as she handed Freya some decorations to add the finishing touches on their Christmas tree in the living room. No smile could be seen on her face and Rebekah could understand why. This was not how the two of them were planning on spending the holidays with their family. It was a mess…destruction. "I thought that if you would bring her here, she would see how wrong it truly is to ignore the family…" "Freya, just stop it! Her husband was murdered and at the hands of Niklaus! Then he went ahead and ordered the death of her pack!" "He did not order their deaths." "No, but he sure as hell made sure that they were tortured to death. If I were in Hayley's shoes, frankly, I would have taken Hope and I would have run as far away from that bastard as possible." Freya looked at her in surprise. "All of a sudden, you're against your brother? What happened to sticking by him till the end?"

"You know as well as I do that I support my brother, but I have my own restraints. I know what Hayley feels. I have been through the same kind of nightmare as her. I loved men for centuries and whenever I got close to someone, Nik would just swoop in and rip their hearts out of their chest, sometimes right in front of me. He claims that he was protecting me, or that they were not good enough for me. After many years, Marcel was finally the only man he allowed to be with me. And that was only because he raised him himself." "Hayley loves him. I know she does." Was all Freya could say. "Not enough to forgive my brother for what he's done." "And what if he hasn't done it?" Freya asked and Rebekah looked at her skeptically. "What are you talking about? Do you know something I don't?" "He avoids the subject. He doesn't deny that he didn't do it but he doesn't give a clear answer either." Freya didn't want to bring up the truth. The last thing she would want was to do the talking for Elijah.

"I don't know what to believe." Rebekah whispered, but still watched Freya as the final decorations were already on the tree. "We have the star, that's left." Freya said and picked up the latter so she could climb all the way to the top and place it there. Before she could start climbing however, Rebekah stopped her. "What is it?" Freya asked, confused. "I think it would be a good idea if Hope was the one to put up the star, don't you?" "But she is too little." "Well, maybe Niklaus will help her. And in doing so it might raise his spirits a little and Hayley's too. It's Christmas." Rebekah explained. Freya laughed. "Hayley is not coming. Don't you get it? She moved next door so that she would be close to Hope. It is Hope who will spend Christmas with us. She won't." "Well that is absurd! She can't punish all of us because of Niklaus' bad actions!" "Bad actions? What he did can't be undone."

"Well, guess what! I refuse to just sit around and do nothing while my family's Christmas spirit is going down the alley. For the sake of this holiday and for the sake of a little girl in our family, Niklaus and Hayley are going to sit down and talk, even if I have to force them in a room and lock them inside myself!" Freya raised her eyebrows at that statement. "What? What did I say?" Rebekah put her hands on her hips. "You make a good point. They have to sit down and talk about this." "What? I thought you said that…oh never mind! I have an idea, but you are going to have to do some of that witchy stuff of yours to make it work." Rebekah told her. "What witchy stuff are you talking about?" "We have to force my brother and Hayley in a room so they can…" "…kill each other. No thank you. Just because we remained orphans, that doesn't mean that Hope should have the same fate." "They will talk it through, alright, love? Just trust me. I know what I'm doing. No matter how much they hate each other right now, they can't ignore Hope and her needs."

"They each think that what they do for Hope is for the best. How are you going to manage to get them to face each other after what happened yesterday?" "MARCEL!" Rebekah called out. "What does he have to do with this?" Freya asked. "If anyone can talk some sense into Hayley, he can." Rebekah replied and then called his name again, out loud so he could hear. Marcel immediately raced downstairs with a grin on his face. "You should see what Hope is doing to Klaus up there. She has him playing dress-up." Freya pulled out her camera. "I just figured out how to blackmail my brother into doing what he's told. I'll be right back. You two deal with Hayley." "Whoa, deal with Hayley? What's going on?" Marcel asked as he watched Freya race upstairs and into Klaus' bedroom. Rebekah instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her so that their lips were touching. "I need you to do me a little favor, okay?"

"Oh no. If this has something to do with Hayley making up with Klaus, I ain't budging. You're going to find someone else." "Come on, Marcellus! Don't be such a bore! Please! I could really use your help." "So what's your plan? What do you think you're going to solve if Hayley shows up here, through some miracle, to talk to Klaus? He killed her husband, man…I…I wouldn't come here either. She is doing something big for Hope and we should be thankful that she agreed to come back for Christmas, at the very least." "You saw them when they confronted each other yesterday, Marcellus. You saw the look on Niklaus' face. He was torn. You know that he was. He felt the pain that she herself was going through. He felt it all…and he took it all. He took it all…all of her kicks and punches because he felt guilty deep down." "That's not good enough and it's not what's going to pull Hayley out of that apartment."

"Freya and I already talked it over. They will be locked in a room. They will have no choice but to talk to each other. It's that simple!" Rebekah tried to be as convincing and as persuasive as possible. "That simple? After he killed Jackson...you think that it's that simple? Klaus himself is going to have my head if he finds out that I had anything to do with this." "So you're going to tell me that Nik has no interest and no desire whatsoever to see and talk to Hayley?" Marcel contemplated on his answer before he said, "Hey, that's not what I meant, but it just can't happen. And just look at it from Hayley's point of view. What do you think she is going to say to him? What can she say to the man who ruined her life?" "Maybe there is a perfectly good explanation for what Niklaus has done. My brother is smart, and he does things with reason. Maybe this will help us figure out why he killed Jackson. For all we know, it could have been an accident…or even the possibility that it wasn't Niklaus who murdered him."

Marcel sighed and whispered, "Look, I really don't know…" But Rebekah didn't give him a chance to answer. She pulled him to her and creased his lips with hers in a soft and warming kiss. "I really want to make this work, so can you do that for me, please? We really want to make this Christmas special for Hope, and she can already sense that her parents are having a fight." "Alright, alright, alright." Marcel gave her a final peck on her cheek and left. He was able to reach the apartment in a couple of seconds and he rang the doorbell. Hayley answered the door and smiled slightly when she saw him. "Hey…anything you want?" "Just to check up on you. How do you feel around here?" "It's fine. For the holidays…I guess it's okay." "I didn't choose the apartment where you and Jackson used to live…" "I know and I appreciate that. I don't want to see that apartment again. There are too many memories." Marcel bit his lip and fidgeted. She could sense that something was wrong. Leaning her head against the door, Hayley forced herself to smile and asked, "That's not the only reason you came here, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" "You know what I'm talking about. You have that face." "What face?" "That face which says, Rebekah told me to do this." Hayley responded. "Look…Rebekah really wants you to come to the compound…like now." "What for?" "She wants you and Klaus to have a discussion." Hayley's face darkened at the mention of his name but she tried to keep herself in control. "Rebekah is out of her mind, isn't she?" "Both her and Freya want the two of you to sit down and talk it through for the sake of Hope." "There is nothing that you can say that is going to convince me to walk out of here and talk to Klaus! He doesn't mean anything to me anymore, okay?!" "You loved him once, and you love him still. You two have been through hell and back together! You know that. This can't just end." "It did when he decided to murder my husband and go after my family." "There must be more to this story. More than we already know, and you can help us figure it all out. Just trust me." Marcel insisted.

…

Hayley stepped her foot inside the compound but kept her head to the ground. She didn't know how she was going to react, but tried to keep it simple, and do just as Marcel told her. She had to give it a shot, because she herself didn't know the whole story and she was about to force Klaus Mikaelson to tell her everything. Rebekah smiled when she saw her enter and whispered, "Thank you, Hayley." "You better be right about this, okay? A couple of minutes in there and he better tell me what I need to know, or I'm leaving." Rebekah simply nodded and led Hayley to the Art Room, where Klaus was standing in front of his window, looking out. Almost as soon as Hayley entered, the door was locked behind her "What the hell?!" she exclaimed and banged at the door immediately. As it turned out, she couldn't even touch it. The door was protected by a shield and so was the window, to Klaus' dismay who tried touching it but he failed. "FREYA!" he raged and moved himself to the door, trying to reach the knob but the shield would not let him. "I can't believe this." Hayley whispered and ran a hand through her hair. She was sure that Rebekah and Freya would pull off something like this, but she didn't trust her instincts before.

"They trapped us in here." Klaus whispered and closed his eyes for a moment. Hayley said nothing and crossed her hands over her chest, looking at the floor in front of her. She couldn't speak and even if she opened her mouth, what would she say to him? "I could use a glass of my favorite drink. Would you…little wolf?" he asked and he picked up a glass, only to have her grab it from him and threw it against the wall. Klaus sighed and whispered, "I really do not appreciate the hostility in one of my most precious rooms in this compound, love. Choose your next move more carefully." "And what are you going to do? You're going to beat the hell out of me?" "As I recall, I had no intention to lay a hand on you yesterday. I let you throw all the punches you desired." "But you had the intention to kill Jackson and then go after my family…when they have done nothing wrong to you or anyone else!" Hayley told him bitterly. "I did not…I…" Klaus muttered under his breath. "What? Speak up! I can't hear you!" Hayley nearly exclaimed. "ENOUGH!" he yelled out and let go of his restrain. In a moment, Hayley was pinned to the wall with his hand around her neck.

"Do not push me, Hayley. Please!" he warned her. He let go of her neck but he would not let her move from the spot. Their eyes connected and he could see the tears threatening to fall from hers. "Push you? Push you? I knew you were always cruel to me. You…from the moment I became pregnant with Hope, I have always been in last place for you…in your eyes I meant nothing because I disturbed you, right? Because I brought this little miracle in the world and you were not the one to control that aspect in your life! You hate not being in control and I know that. You hate it! And I became this curse that wouldn't leave you alone. And so you made it your goal to ruin my life. You made it that way. You killed Jackson, you wanted to take my daughter and then you ordered the vampires to kill my family. Let me go already. Haven't you done enough to me? What more do you want?" She caught him off guard with her words, and Klaus had to keep his hands on the wall to keep himself from losing his balance.

Her orbits were too much to bear. "Hayley…" he finally murmured. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" she yelled out, louder than she could ever muster in different situations. When he didn't say anything, Hayley pushed him out of the way and went to the door. "Freya, open this door right now or I swear to God, when I get out of here, you are going to pay for this!" When they didn't answer, Hayley yelled out and rushed to the window, to try and figure out a way she could break free of that room, but it was pointless. "Let go! Let me go." She whimpered and pushed against the walls. Klaus' arms were the ones which wrapped around her in a matter of seconds and he held her against him. "No! No! Let me go! Let me go! NO!" Hayley yelled out again and tried to break free of his grip, but she couldn't. His lips found their way to her ear and he kept them there for a moment. "There was a time when I could think of many reasons why you would want to be with me…and I have ruined that chance but to have you think so low of me…I could never imagine."

Hayley turned around and faced him in his arms. "What do you want from me?" she asked him again. "You assumed the worst, so why should I do my best to try and convince you otherwise?" Klaus hissed. "What the hell are you talking about?" "I have done things I am not proud of, love. I have. And it is the truth that I have sent the vampires in the bayou to torture your family. I did it, and I admit to it! It was all me!" "And you look at me in the eyes and…" "Yes, little wolf, and I have reason to. I understand you may find it hard to believe, but I never laid a hand on your precious husband. He did not die by my hand." Hayley's mouth parted and searched his eyes. She wanted to see if he was lying…but of course he was. "His heart was lying on the ground in front of his corpse in the cemetery. You have to do better than that." Hayley whispered and Klaus' eyes suddenly glowed amber as he gripped her hands tighter.

"You listen to me, Hayley! I am not in any position to answer to you, do you understand? I can see it all very clearly that the moment you told me you would trust me…it was all a façade…never true. So why should I deny what you believe, so that you can make a fool out of me? I don't think so, sweetheart." He pulled away from her and turned to the door. "Freya, love, I would suggest that you would spare us the torture and let us out of here! If a conversation between us is all you ever wanted, then I can say congratulations! You have your wish!" Freya, Rebekah and Marcel were outside, listening in to what he was saying. "Come on. Just let them go. They said all that they needed to say to each other." Marcel was the one who was begging this time. Rebekah shook her head. "He didn't do it. I am certain now…more than ever. My brother was not responsible for Jackson's death. He is innocent in this matter." Freya couldn't help the smile creeping over her face as she nodded slowly.

"Yes, it would appear so." She then turned to the door and muttered something in Latin, which made the door reachable for them and it was immediately opened by Hayley, who looked at them coldly. "I never thought you would do this to me. Have a great Christmas!" She stormed outside and Rebekah was calling after her. "Hayley, no! Please don't go!" But the hybrid girl could not be stopped. Freya stepped inside the Art Room, where Klaus was expecting her, with his arms crossed over his chest. "Quite pleased with yourself, sister?" "As a matter of fact, I am. I received a confirmation." "Of what exactly?" "That you are not the one who killed Jackson…as I was already expecting." Klaus chuckled and shook his head. "Yes, I am certain that you never thought of me to be the monster in this matter." He turned his back on her and headed to his own chamber. "That was a major setback." Marcel said and Rebekah shook her head. "We got them to confess their complicated feelings on the matter…and we need to find out what happened to Jackson and who killed him." Freya pursed her lips, unsure of what she should do.

…

The day dragged on with chores and responsibilities, and before they knew it, night dragged on and Christmas Eve had arrived. "Do you think that this is a good idea?" the young woman asked, trembling. "Sofia…yes, it is. She is your mother. You don't have to be afraid." Cami encouraged her. Elijah was knocking on her door and then opened it when he heard a soft whimper, which sounded like "Come on in." Eleanor was sitting on her bed, with her hand over her heart and her vision blurry. It broke Cami's heart, seeing her in that position. But they were here to do something good for her…because of what the doctors were saying, that this Christmas Eve, Eleanor would leave this world. Elijah went over to the woman Sydney and asked her, "What's going to happen to her? Is the treatment working?" "I'm afraid not. I know you have both done your best and I appreciate you both for that, but there is nothing more you can do here. We need to keep her under surveillance, because there is only a matter of time before we will have to say our final goodbyes."

"That is not true. We have not done the best we could. We can do more for her right now, right in her last minutes of life. We brought her daughter, Sofia. She was dragged to Mexico, when she was younger, where she was adopted and taken away from her mother. Please. Eleanor thinks that her brother murdered her entire family line. She must know that she still has someone left in this world, to look out for her even when she passes away. Let them have their moment." Cami argued. Sydney looked over at the young girl and finally nodded, letting her pass. "The shock alone could cause…" Sydney tried to explain but Elijah shook his head. "Seeing her daughter, especially now on the holidays will be good for her. Even if she does not make it through the night…she will need to know her daughter is alive and that she is well." The reunion between Eleanor and her daughter, Sofia was too much to bear. Cami didn't want to be in the room and disturb them, so she took her place outside, with her hand covering her mouth.

Elijah followed her and soon enough, he put his hand on her back, whispering, "Everything is going to be alright. She will be happy now. All she has ever wanted was to have her daughter…or someone from her family with her." Cami nodded and wiped away her tears. Elijah watched her carefully and then cupped her cheek with one hand, making her look at him. "You seem troubled by something. Would you please tell me what it is?" "There's no point in telling you, Elijah." She thought about Sean and what he had told her. She understood that the message was about Elijah. "Camille…" "Elijah, do you feel proud of yourself?" she asked him. "No. I cannot say that." "I can't say that either, because even with all the good deeds you have done for Eleanor back there, it can't make up for the bind you got your brother in. And what makes it even worse is that you are planning on keeping it that way. Please…can't you just tell the truth?" Elijah sighed and looked at Cami's face. "I would…but it would bring nothing but heartache to the people I care most about."

"You bring your sister heartache, because she has to cover for you. Spare her of this misery and just tell Hayley the truth about what happened to Jackson and maybe, maybe, something can be salvaged this Christmas. This holiday is all about forgiveness, Elijah. If you would just tell the truth, it will all be forgiven and you will feel at peace. Trust me." Elijah and Cami were both pulled out of their trance, when they heard loud sobs coming from Sofia in the room. It was indicating that Eleanor had finally passed away. "She was a good woman." Cami whispered and went inside to pay her respects, as Elijah pondered outside, listening closely to the young woman's loud sobs, and the words of Cami ringing loud and clear into his ears. He knew what he had to do. It was his chance to make things right. This family…he had always been the one to look out for it. He wanted his brother's happiness and Hayley's too. If his confession would make things right…he was prepared.

Rushing out of the homeless shelter, Elijah found himself directly in front of the apartment he knew Hayley had rented when she had moved back here. He knocked on the door gently. For the sake of their past, and for his brother, he had to do this. Hayley opened the door. There was a tired look on her face. "Elijah. What are you doing here?" Hayley asked him. Elijah took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm afraid that I could no longer keep it inside myself any longer, Hayley. I am here to let you know the truth about Jackson's murder."

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 **A/N: Cliffhanger. What do you think Hayley's reaction will be in the next chapter when she finally learns the truth about who murdered Jackson? How will Elijah explain it to her? Does he have a good explanation? What about Klaus? How will he react? (A special Klayley moment in the next chapter you will all love)**

 **Thank you for reading and please leave me reviews!**


	6. The Peace Was Knocking

**Previously, on** **DNA** **, after debating the problem further, Freya and Rebekah reached the conclusion that Klaus and Hayley had to speak to each other for Hope's sake at least, implicating Marcel in the plot as well. After finding themselves locked in a room, with the help of Freya's magic, Klaus and Hayley were forced to confess and express their feelings. Meanwhile, Elijah and Cami brought Sofia at the homeless shelter, to a dying Eleanor so she could see her daughter, and Cami advised Elijah to tell the truth, afraid about her brother's warning. Finally, Elijah found himself at Hayley's doorstep, ready to confess.**

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 **PLOT: Elijah confesses all of his sins to Hayley, including the reason for Jackson's death, which sends her haywire and makes her, leave the compound. Elijah reveals to Camille, Marcel, Rebekah and Freya what he had done and faces his brother. As Hope is distracted by the presents, Klaus races in search for Hayley, determined to make things right between them. With the confessions and passion running between the two hybrids, they end up in a situation they never imagined, and finally, Elijah makes a decision regarding his departure and faces Freya and Cami's objections.**

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"I'm afraid that I could no longer keep it inside myself any longer, Hayley. I am here to let you know the truth about Jackson's murder." Elijah said and looked at her pleadingly. Hayley didn't know what she could believe. She stood at the door, with her hands on the handle and her eyes met his. "What do you mean? What do you know?" she finally asked him. "A lot. I need you to listen to me very carefully, because there is a lot that needs to be revealed about the night his life left him, Hayley and I was there to watch it happen." Hayley closed her eyes for a moment, dreading the worst but deep in her heart, she knew that she had to listen. This was for her, and for the good of the pack. Maybe they would take her back if they found out the truth. "What exactly did you mean when you said that you were there, Elijah? Were you there and you watched it happen or…?" She couldn't continue because she recognized the look of pity in his eyes but it was not pity for her, but for himself.

He took a deep breath and started explaining, knowing well what the consequences might cost him, but it was this very close to Christmas and his inner desire was to make things right, and he would stop at nothing to make that happen. Everything had to be right again for the sake of his niece, just like Cami had told him. "He was drunk that night. I was upset myself for personal reasons. And he came to me…we met at the Lafayette Cemetery. I didn't know why I was there, and I could only guess Jackson didn't know what he was doing there either. He started talking to himself, while he was holding two bottles of rum. He drank them both without hesitation. I watched him silently. I thought about whether I should confront him or not. For a moment, I thought I should not get in his business, however…"

Elijah hesitated and he could see that Hayley was running out of patience. "However, he was not about to leave that cemetery in peace. He made a racket, and he even had the intention of digging up a person from his own grave. I have never seen him act as beastly as he had shown me that night, so I knew it was my responsibility to confront him. I stepped over to him and demanded that he returned home, because I knew that as your husband, he had a responsibility towards you and towards Hope. He refused, and he warned me not to get in his way. I tried stopping him and that was when he revealed to me…what I believe we all knew for a very long time…your obvious attraction to Niklaus. He started telling me of a ball, a ball in which you shared dances only with my brother but not with him. He knew, Hayley. He knew what was going on between the two of you and he was letting it out of his system, but because of the alcohol…things went chaotic." Hayley licked her lips and asked softly, "What are you talking about? What happened after that?"

"He started threatening me. He told me that he knew where the remaining White Oak Stake was and he was going to jab it in my heart, because I refused to give him any details of your and Niklaus' indiscretions. I was not scared by such a threat, however, Jackson lost control, and he attacked me. I was not aware that he was able to act this monstrous, especially in a cemetery. I tried to grab him, but he would not budge. I can remember even now how his eyes were glowing amber with fury. He was determined to attack me, and then…" "And then what?" Hayley asked almost at once, afraid of what was to come. "And then I did it without thinking, Hayley. I did it. He started threatening you and Hope, and as a clear member of this family and the care I had for you, I was frightened that he would harm you because he knew of you and Niklaus. I jabbed my hand into his chest and I pulled his heart out, leaving it there on the ground." Hayley closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "You killed him. He was just drunk and you killed him?" she asked very softly.

"I did it, but in my mind, I was doing it with the best intentions for my family." "Jackson would have never harmed me as a sober man! He would have never harmed Hope!" "You cannot possibly know that! His jealousy had always been his weakness and you know that better than I do! He was second when we were…and then when you and Niklaus…" Elijah was unable to say some words, as he watched Hayley's fury wash over her. "AND YOU JUST STOOD THERE AND YOU…!" she started yelling and then held her forehead, trying to get herself to calm down, forcefully. "You let Klaus take the blame? What kind of brother are you?" she finally asked him and Elijah looked nervous, afraid that this matter would be brought up. He was not prepared to deal with this. "Niklaus wanted…" "He is insecure and he always likes playing the victim, he enjoys having people think the worst of him…why would you let him do that to himself?" Her eyes were flaming as she took a step towards him. For the first time since he had met her, Elijah was fully scared of her.

"Tell me the truth, Elijah. Are you really that much of a coward?" Hayley snapped at him. Elijah raised his chin and started shaking his head. "No, Hayley, you must listen to me. You must understand how hard it was for me to…" "YOU KILLED HIM! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" She pushed Elijah out of her way and sped across Bourbon Street and away from the city. Elijah sighed. He knew she always did this whenever she was upset. The problems she was forced to face were too many to bear, and too humongous. She ran from them. It made her feel safe, to hide in her own little world. Elijah knew, because his brother would do the same, always. His thoughts were filled with what Camille had told him. She had faith in him, that he would do the right thing and save his family, but he felt he didn't save them. He just destroyed it. Her words were inspiring indeed, but it was not enough to make him think better of himself.

" _You bring your sister heartache, because she has to cover for you. Spare her of this misery and just tell Hayley the truth about what happened to Jackson and maybe, maybe, something can be salvaged this Christmas. This holiday is all about forgiveness, Elijah. If you would just tell the truth, it will all be forgiven and you will feel at peace. Trust me."_ Did he really spare his sister of having to reveal the truth herself? He doubted it? But a relief was building up deep inside of him. Of course he was worried for Hayley, and where she might have gone, but he was at peace, knowing that he had wronged her by killing her husband, and he had nothing more to hide.

He knocked on her door and just as always, she was there to open the door for him. Her blonde hair was tied in a bun, and her eyes were glowing red. Elijah could tell that she had been crying, all emotional because of the death of old lady Eleanor on Christmas Eve. "Hi." She whispered and Elijah smiled slightly. "Hello, Camille." "What are you doing here?" "I told Hayley." Elijah whispered and Cami's eyes widened. "You told her?" "Yes." "And how did she react?" He shook his head and whispered, "I cannot find the proper words in order to describe it." "Where is she now? Is she okay?" "I don't know. I left her alone…to deal with her problems." Elijah decided to tell only half of the truth. They remained silent for a couple of moments until a small smile spread on Cami's face. "I am very happy for you…that you told the truth." "Not to everyone. Hayley is the only one who knows and soon enough…Niklaus shall know." "You're afraid of your brother's wrath?"

"You know how he can be, Camille. He will never understand that it was never my intention to end Jackson's life. It happened. He will think only of Hayley and of her issues. He will never put himself in my shoes." "I think he will be angry at first, especially since you let him take the blame, but he will cool off eventually, and the two of you can work it out together." Elijah nodded, after which he asked her, "Are you alright? With Eleanor?" Cami nodded and whispered, "She is at peace, and it is much better than to be held to bed in pain like that. But I am also happy that we were able to care for her, in the last moments of her life, and that we brought her daughter to see her. I feel…I did well. I helped another. I sometimes feel like it's the only purpose I have in this world. You might feel the same." Elijah nodded and whispered, "I can relate, indeed. Which is why I must ask…would it be possible for me to spend the night here?" A slight blush appeared on Cami's face in an instant. "What?" she asked slowly. Her hand was still on the door and she wasn't moving it from there.

"I was wondering if you would let me stay, if it's no trouble. I cannot go back to the compound now, with Niklaus, Rebekah, Freya and Marcel there. They will learn soon of what I had just confessed to Hayley, and I am certain that even though it is Christmas, I will not be forgiven for this easily. I can only imagine what the werewolves will have to say about this." Cami grabbed his hand and led him inside, without saying anything and closed the door behind her, pointing at the couch. "I can give you a pillow and a blanket if you want. Sorry…my apartment is kind of small and I haven't planned on having anyone here for Christmas." "It is not recommended for someone to be alone at this time of the year. I will be happy to provide you with some company. It is the least I can do." Cami watched him take off his suit, smiled and then turned around and walked to her bed, tired as always.

…

Klaus walked out of his room early that morning, his thoughts only on his daughter and the wish for him to see the happy smile on her face when she would soon open her presents. Rebekah and Freya had done everything possible for them the other day and they had even allowed Hope to put up the star for the tree, herself. He tried to keep a smile on his face, even when his thoughts went to Hayley, and that she was all alone in her apartment on one of the most wonderful days of the year. He closed his eyes and headed downstairs, where he could hear loud voices, and among Freya, Rebekah, Marcel and Elijah, Klaus was surprised to see Cami there as well, a person he had not seen since they broke things off. All of them were arguing. "What is going on here?" he asked and walked down the stairs. Marcel turned to him and said, "Hey, I got Hope to stay in her room for now and she opened her presents in there. We got a big problem." "Why? What happened?" Klaus asked, more worried, when he saw the look on Elijah's face and Cami had her hand on his arm.

"I'll tell you what bloody happened! Elijah was responsible for Jackson's death all along and he figured that Christmas day would be the best day to fess up!" Rebekah exclaimed and Klaus' eyes widened immediately, and his mouth parted in shock as he stared at his brother. "Is this true?" he finally whispered and Elijah raised his hands up so he could speak but Rebekah cut him off. "How convenient for you to ruin Christmas for us, huh, Elijah? And you kept this secret for so long?! You let Hayley believe that it was Niklaus' fault? How could you do that?!" "Why didn't you confess it was not you?" Elijah asked his brother. "Stop changing the subject!" Rebekah snapped. "What did you do?" Klaus simply asked and Elijah whispered, "It was never my intention to murder Jackson. It was an accident and I am willing to pay the price for that accident. Niklaus, I didn't want to be the one to break such news to Hayley…" "But you let me take the fault in hopes of ruining my relationship with her." Klaus concluded and Elijah was the one staring in shock.

"No! Brother, I would never…" "You always wanted her and you could never have her…and now you decided to take her from me too." "No, Niklaus! I never had any intention…!" "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Klaus roared and turned to Marcel. "I need to see Hayley." "She isn't in her apartment, man." "What are you talking about? Where is she?" "Elijah told her the truth last night and she took off." Freya explained. "And you thought you could have a good night's rest and then inform us of her disappearance? I was to be informed, sister…" Klaus warned her but she replied, "Elijah just told us what happened when we were asking why Hayley was not in her apartment. We wanted to have her here when Hope were to open her presents." Klaus sighed and rubbed his temple. Cami stepped in and started saying, "He wanted to tell the truth sooner and I just…" "I do not need your confirmation, Cami! I am going to find her and when I come back…I don't want either of you in my home." Klaus said softly. Marcel stepped out of his way as he grabbed his jacket. "Hey, man, wait. Let me come with you at least. Let me see what you're dealing with. Maybe I can help."

Klaus chuckled and shook his head. "The only thing you can help me with Marcellus is to have my brother daggered when I return." Rebekah sighed and whispered, "Nik, come on. You don't really mean that." "I know exactly what I mean. I don't want Elijah here when I return." "Where will you look for her? Nik, for all we know she can be out of town already!" Rebekah argued but Klaus shook his head. "She wouldn't leave her daughter here. If she is anywhere, she must be with her pack." Marcel shook his head. "No way, man. You won't be allowed to get to her if that's where she is. You ambushed that pack, remember and I also remember Hayley beating the crap out of you when she came here." "If they do not pounce, I will have no reason to slaughter them." "If you slaughter them, you better run for the hills because Hayley will forget that you're the father of her child." "Marcellus, have you forgotten who I am?" Klaus finally asked him and his former protégé finally remained quiet. "That's what I thought."

…

The pack had gone back to their regular business as always, just as Klaus thought they would. Ignoring the problem had always been their way of showing that they were not weak, but the weakness could be seen in their eyes. Their alpha was dead and their dishonored their Queen because of that matter. Frowning, Klaus walked over to the first wolf in his sight and asked, "Where is the hybrid…who calls herself your Queen?" "She may call herself that but she is no Queen of ours. And if you know what's good for you, you'll take off!" The wolf spit on the ground in front of him and Klaus immediately grabbed a hold of him hard, nearly breaking his bones and he cried out in pain. "What the hell do you want from us? You killed Jackson!" he spat. The wolf was pulled back to his feet and Klaus eyed him menacingly. "I'm afraid that there was a small complication regarding that matter." "What kind of complication?" "None that concerns you."

"Then you better leave." Klaus smirked and asked, "Are you giving me an order?" "No, I just…" the wolf whimpered out of fear and Klaus finally let him go, saying, "I have a matter to deal with the one Hayley Marshall. Kindly direct me to her this instant before I pull your heart from your chest." "Killing a part of her pack will only make her hate you even more." "I will take my chances." Klaus growled and moved towards him but the wolf held up his hands at once. "Fine. She's by the river…on the other side." The wolf pointed way beyond where they were residing. Klaus smiled and said, "There! That wasn't so bad now, was it?" he asked, devilishly. Without letting the wolf answer, Klaus sped over to the other side of the river, where Hayley was sitting between some bushes, with her head between her knees. She felt his presence and immediately turned around in shock. "Hello, love. A pretty…inconvenient place to be, won't you say?" "How did you find me?" "I threatened one of your lackeys. The poor lad almost peed himself and started singing like a canary."

That remark erupted a giggle from Hayley's mouth, but she stopped it almost at once. Klaus watched her and then took a seat next to her, whispering, "Elijah confessed to the rest of us, little wolf." "How did you react?" Hayley asked, still not looking at him. "I tried to react as calmly and as rationally as possible, but I must have failed." "Why do you think that?" "I was there when I heard myself screaming at him from the top of my lungs." Hayley felt stupid for asking such a question. "What's going to happen? What's he going to do?" "What is it that would make you feel any better? Torture…locked in a coffin…" Hayley smiled but said, "Klaus, I'm serious." "As am I. You didn't really believe that I would let him go unpunished for this, did you? He framed me." "You framed yourself." Hayley reminded him. She sighed after a moment of silence and finally looked up to meet his eyes. "Why would you put yourself through that? Why would you make me believe that you did it?"

Klaus frowned and whispered, "I did have faith that you trusted me, little wolf." "I trusted you to tell the truth and when I confronted you and you said what you did…of course I believed you. I did trust you. I trusted you all along, and it got me nothing but disaster. But you enjoy it. You enjoy playing the victim and making me suffer…" She stopped talking when she felt his warm hand pressed against her cheek. "I do not. I do not enjoy seeing you suffer. You believe that I would enjoy seeing you in pain?" "You have before." "I have not…I have thought carefully of what you have told me…about our long history since you became pregnant with my child. I have thought about it long and hard, little wolf. You were correct in your confession when we were trapped in that room. I have never treated you as you deserve to be treated and for that I apologize and I promise it will change."

"That's all?" Hayley asked even though she really hated herself for opening her mouth. She would have been lying to herself if she had convinced herself that she wasn't disappointed…because she missed him. Klaus frowned and whispered, "What else can there be?" Hayley stood up and cleared her throat, as Klaus stood up after her. "I can't forgive Elijah for what he did. Maybe in the future. He did offer me an explanation, but that's not enough for me. I don't know if it ever will be." "I have already expressed my desire for him to leave the compound before anything rash happens. I told him to leave so you can come home." "I can't come home, Klaus." He took her hands in his and whispered, "Yes, you can. For the sake of our daughter…please…it is Christmas." "I want to stay with my pack. It's cold and it's snowing already." Klaus smirked and asked, "You are not cold?" "No. I'm a hybrid too, remember? Why would I be…?" Her heart stopped when she saw him coming closer to her and purred in her ear. "Perfect." "What are you doing?" Hayley gasped in shock as Klaus moved his hands behind her back.

Slowly and carefully, he swarmed his hands on her bare back, under her pullover, making her moan and arch her back. "You…you're…" she was gasping and trying to say something but nothing would come out. Klaus' lips move to her earlobe, where he started kissing her ear gently. "Klaus." She whispered as he took off her pullover, revealing her exquisite self in the background of the snow. Her bra was soon pulled off her body and Hayley covered herself with her hands but her face was glowing. "You're crazy." She whispered but soon his kiss was what sealed her lips. His tongue parted her lips in passion and he smirked when he felt her hands on his own body, pulling off all of his clothes, and dropping them on the ground. "I admit defeat, love. Your beauty has captured all of my attention, and your passion…it drives me insane with need. I must have you, little wolf." As soon as all of their clothes were off, they landed on the ground, on top of all of their clothes, as the snow continued to fall on them. "I miss you." Hayley gasped when they finally pulled back from their kiss.

Her eyes closed of their own accord as she felt Klaus' lips trailing from her neck to her exposed breasts. He licked and sucked on her skin, making her moan as much as he wanted to hear her voice. His lips reached her bellybutton and then traced themselves back up and to her jaw, where he mumbled, "I desire you, my Queen." He continued kissing her lips, and when she felt him ready for her, she grabbed a hold of his face and caressed his cheeks, whispering, "I still love you." Klaus smirked at her confession and just pressed his lips to hers once more. "My love is forever yours." He put it more elegantly and they continued their passionate escapade from reality, hoping that no one from her pack had found them.

…

Cami contemplated on the Mikaelson family drama that she once again managed to get into. "How do you feel?" Freya asked her and she sighed, responding, "Klaus is being Klaus. He will never change." "Maybe not for you." Freya snapped at her at once and Cami looked at her for a moment in surprise. "Then for whom do you think he will change? He won't change for his own family." "He will change for himself, when he believes the time will be right. For now, you let him be. He is not your responsibility, Cami. I have another matter I want to talk to you about. Elijah." Cami said, "I really don't want to have any more problems, so if it's okay with you, I would like to just go home now." "Please go with him." Freya told her and Cami turned around in shock. "What are you talking about? Where should I go with him?"

"He is no longer wanted here for the time being and Niklaus has expressed his desire for him to leave so we can all have a quiet Christmas. Just because he confessed, that does not mean that he will not be punished for what he did. He ruined our connection to the Crescent wolves, cost Hayley her position as Queen to that pack and let Niklaus take the fall for it." "Klaus chose that fate! Elijah had nothing to do with it!" Cami was starting to get angry and Freya raised her eyebrows. "That's interesting. You're defending him already. Something happened between you two?" Cami didn't get a chance to answer when Elijah stepped over to them and whispered, "I believe that I have managed to find a perfect location where I might be able to enjoy the holidays. I shall take the place Hayley left behind in California." Freya stepped over to him at once and said, "It's good and Cami will go with you."

Elijah looked up to see her face as full of surprise as his was. "No, sister. I do not believe that it will be appropriate." "Why not? From what I hear, the two of you have gone through a lot these past few days together. A few more days alone together, wouldn't hurt, don't you think?" "I don't believe Camille would wish to travel with me." Elijah pointed out. Cami shook her head and whispered, "No, that's fine. I can go with you. There is nothing I can really do here. Just save me a ticket." Elijah looked from Freya to Cami and finally whispered, "Very well. We shall be leaving today so I recommend you take whatever you might need and meet me here in a few hours." "Fine." Cami responded and turned on her heel, ready to leave. "What are you doing, sister?" Elijah asked her and Freya smiled. "I am just making sure that you still have some familiar company. It is Christmas after all."

* * *

 **A/N: The next chapter is going to be the last one of this mini-story and it will move directly to New Year's Eve when Elijah and Cami come back. How do you think they will manage to celebrate together as a family? Will Klaus and Hayley forgive Elijah? What about the wolves?**

 **Thank you for reading and please leave me reviews!**


	7. Homecoming Gift

**In the previous chapter, Hayley learned the truth about Jackson's death and why he was murdered, sending her out of the city. Elijah confessed to the entire family his sins, and Klaus set of in search of Hayley, after much intimidation given to one wolf from her pack. Once finding Hayley, Klaus was able to convince her of his intentions for Elijah's punishment and his feelings for her, which lead to a steamy moment in the cold snow on Christmas Day. In the end, Freya suggested to Elijah that he takes Cami with him on his little trip to California, so he would have some pleasant company.**

* * *

 **PLOT: Klaus discovers the true meaning of family while being with Hayley and Hope on the day of New Year's Eve. Freya and Rebekah have a sisterly-bond as they prepare the festivity and send out invitations to the Crescent Wolves as well. Elijah and Cami return from their trip, with gifts for Hope and Elijah is forced by Klaus to have a talk with Hayley. Meanwhile, Cami is presented with a surprise from the homeless shelter, following the will of Eleanor Tate, her deceased patient. Finally, the werewolves arrive at the New Year's Eve party only to create tension between them and the true murderer of Jackson.**

* * *

For a couple of days, his thoughts have been only on his brother, and how he must have been handling the situation. It was not every day that he could admit to killing someone, destroying the family unity in the meantime. Elijah represented the unity for their family, and sometimes, Rebekah took that role as well. But now that Elijah and Cami were both gone in California, Hayley was at peace, that she knew the truth about what happened to Jackson, and she accepted Klaus wholeheartedly in her life, with many apologies and passionate nights like the one they shared in the woods, covered by snow and their own clothes. Freya was surrounding the compound by making the best she could under the circumstances. New Year's Eve had arrived, and no one was more excited than the child of the family.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Hope bursts through their bedroom and started jumping up and down the bed. Klaus and Hayley both groaned as they tried to get back under the covers. They had not been getting much sleep lately, with all the midnight activities. "New Year's! New Year's! New Year's!" Hope started yelling out while jumping on the bed and then she zoomed out of the bedroom and into her Auntie Bekah's bedroom in order to alert her too. Hayley burst out laughing and nudged Klaus when she saw that he had decided to go back to sleep. "You know that she is coming back if we don't get up, right?" A smirk played on Klaus' face as he leaned over to her and kissed her earlobe, sucking on her neck and then placed a chaste kiss on her shoulder. "What if I lock the door and you and I can have our own celebration, little wolf?"

"Oh, so we're talking about sex?" Hayley asked with a roll of her eyes. "I believe you should have said that a bit louder, love because I don't think Hope heard you." Klaus grunted and got up from the bed and threw his shirt back on and then his pants. Hayley sat up too but covered herself with the sheets, still exposing the top part of her breasts to him and walked over seductively, placing a kiss on his lips. "We should have some family time, Klaus. We have been ignoring Hope since the day Elijah left." "No, we have not." "Yes, we have. We barely left this room to be with her." "Sweetheart, you are very irresistible, so how could I even think about leaving this bedroom in that case?" "Breaking your daughter's heart is a better option?" she asked and placed her hands on his chest. "What do you want us to do, love?" Klaus finally asked her with a sigh. "We'll throw a party and we will do it just like Hope wanted. We will have candles, we will go out and buy her more presents than the ones she received on Christmas Day…"

"Don't remind me!" Klaus groaned, remembering the nightmare Christmas they all had and how at the end of the day, after Elijah and Cami left for California, it was Hope of all people, who started getting angry at them and throwing things around the room because she did not receive the attention she wanted while she was opening up her presents. "I am reminding you because I really don't want to disappoint her again." "That's quite a problem, sweetheart because you will have to understand…Elijah is on Hope's Wish List." "What Wish List?" Hayley asked, confused. "She created a list the other day of all the people she wanted to invite to spend New Year's with her and Elijah happens to be on that list." "Also Jackson…" Hayley whispered and rubbed her eyes. "Love, she can handle anything." "No, she can't. She's just a child and I still have to tell her that Jackson is gone and he is not coming back." She then looked at his face and whispered, "Klaus, I'm sorry."

"There is no need to apologize. Jackson was a part of her life when the two of you were married and I can understand and respect that." "Can you? Really?" "Of course." "Okay…then maybe we can talk about Cami." "What is there to talk about?" "Is she going to be a part of this New Year's fest or…?" Klaus chuckled when he saw that Hayley was crossing her hands over her chest in defense. She always did that when she was suspicious of something. "Love, is this your way of trying to corner me…trying to get me to say that I have something going on with Cami still?" "You tell me." "Where is this coming from?" "Look…we have this…" She pointed between them. "…this thing going on and I want to make sure that it is real and that we are really doing this because if it doesn't work out…" Hayley stopped talking when she felt Klaus' kiss on her lips. "I am in this, little wolf. For the long run, I am in." She smirked and whispered, "Alright. You said the words. Be prepared for the many challenges along the way." "I look forward to them, my Queen."

"And what about Hope? Will you do everything in your power to make this New Year's special for her?" "You know, I will, sweetheart." "Then you have to get Elijah back." Klaus stopped Hayley from leaving the room and said as calmly as he could, "I don't believe that I have heard you correctly, little wolf. For a moment there, I believe you said something about wanting me to bring Elijah back." "Yeah, I did. What's the problem?" "He killed your husband." Klaus reminded her, simply. Hayley sighed and took a deep breath before saying, "It's passed. I feel pain because Jackson was a good man and a good husband, and I didn't love him the way I wanted to, because he deserved it." "He made a sacrifice for the good of your pack." "It wasn't a sacrifice for him as it was for me, Klaus. He really loved me. And that is what determined me even more to marry him. I wanted to feel loved." "And now you are…and you will be from this day forward. You have my word." Hayley smiled and whispered, "I love you."

"As I love you, sweetheart." Klaus said the words with more ease, as he was certain that Hayley would not turn her back on him. She would never betray him. She never truly has, even after he had treated her in the cruelest way possible. She was alongside him. They were partners, leaders and lovers. The door burst open and an angry Rebekah walked inside with Hope's screams which could be heard from her room, the one she shared with Marcel. "What the bloody hell is going on in here? Don't you two have any idea how to raise a child?" "We're not exactly the most ideal parents, Rebekah, and you should relax. She is just very excited for the New Year's party." Rebekah groaned and said, "Ah, that reminds me…I have to go shopping with Freya today…oh for goodness sakes! And get your daughter to stop getting on my nerves or she will say goodbye to Auntie Bekah and welcome the real Rebekah Mikaelson!" She snapped, making Klaus chuckle, as he got himself a glass of bourbon.

Hope came back into her parents' bedroom and looked at them with an adorable look on her face. "Pretty please…can Uncle Elijah and Cami come?!" Hayley eventually nodded and Hope squealed, starting to jump up and down the bed again. "Is it a possibility for even hybrids to get a migraine, sweetheart?" Klaus asked Hayley and she smiled, "That's your daughter over there." "It's our DNA. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." He remarked and picked up his phone, ready to dial Elijah's number and trying to be as calm as possible with him, under the circumstances. Klaus was prepared to invite his brother back home for New Year's, as long as he didn't do anything to upset Hayley. Elijah answered after the third ring. _"Niklaus. I am surprised you called."_ "Hello, brother. Hope insists that you join us for the festivities of the New Year." _"That is nice, indeed, however, I am not sure that I will be able to make it."_ "You will have to be able to make it, brother because your niece does not do well with disappointments. And since it is the New Year's…we have a tradition to celebrate it in the family, do we not?"

" _Niklaus, Camille and I…"_ "I personally do not want to hear another word on the matter. You will take Cami's hand and the two of you will come back to New Orleans and celebrate with us, for the sake of my child." There was a long pause and Klaus eyed Hayley to see that she was getting a little uncomfortable with this conversation. _"How is Hayley?"_ Elijah finally asked and Klaus' breathing hitched. "She is fine. She certainly does not need any comfort words from you, since you killed Jackson." _"I apologized and I will pay for my mistake. Whatever the price may be."_ "Ah, such gallant and noble words, as always! Unfortunately, it is not enough to woo Hayley this time, brother. Be here tonight with Cami and let bygones be bygones." With that, Klaus ended the conversation and turned around to see that Hope was no longer in their room and Hayley strutted over to him. She put her hands on his naked chest and leaned in to give him a kiss on the lips. "I'm fine…and I know that you don't like being called jealous…so try to hide that jealousy streak from now on, okay?"

He looked surprised and stated, "I have no reason to be jealous." "Really? Then why were you talking to Elijah about him trying to woo me?" Klaus continued to stare down at her with a hard expression, making Hayley giggle and she kissed him again, this time more passionately and demanding. She opened his mouth and let his tongue enter, moaning in comfort. "You have no right to be jealous of Elijah and then come at me and tell me not to be jealous of Cami, okay? I love you. I don't know what I have to do to prove that to you." Hayley looked at him desperately. "Nothing." Klaus murmured and creased her lips with his tongue after which he caressed her cheek and kissed her forehead. "I want to see you happy tonight, little wolf." "Nothing will spoil my New Year's Eve with you and our daughter."

…

"Ugh, this is just not right!" Rebekah complained as she noticed the decorations Freya had picked out for the ballroom, later that evening. They only had a couple of hours left and the party was close to ready to begin. Freya rolled her eyes and said, "You could have picked out these decorations yourself had you been up and early like I asked." "Well, Marcel and I have been celebrating the New Year a bit earlier than usual." Rebekah replied with a wink and Freya smiled. "And what about Niklaus and Hayley? I could hear them going at it all night." "They have been inseparable ever since Elijah confessed to the truth." "Can you blame them? They wanted to be together for so long. They had affairs behind Cami and Jackson's backs and then my idiot brother admitted to a crime he didn't commit." Freya sighed, shaking her head.

"The good thing is that they form a family now, Hope is happy and Elijah and Cami are coming home today." "Why did you send Cami on that trip to California along with Elijah?" Rebekah asked Freya, raising an eyebrow at her. "I am not playing the matchmaker, if that is what you suspect me of." She responded immediately and Rebekah nodded. "Hmm, then why?" "Because Cami has been through a lot these past few days, just as Elijah, and I really wanted to help her out. Is there a problem?" "No. I was just curious." There was a pause and Freya turned to her sister, saying, "Aright, fine. I will admit that they are quite lovely together. They have a lot in common, they can help each other heal from broken hearts etcetera, etcetera." Rebekah attention returned to Marcel, who was choosing the five-course meals for that night.

"Don't be ridiculous, Marcellus! We don't need the food to be this lavish." She complained and Marcel nearly dropped the list. "Who are you and what have you done to Rebekah Mikaelson, I wonder?" "I am serious this time. We don't need to make such a good impression. The vampires and the witches have a problem with celebrating the New Year, remember? They think that everything they have accomplished this past year would have gone to waste by the countdown." Marcel stared at her and then started chuckling again. "Do you think I care? And what about the Crescents? Didn't you send out invitations to them too?" "I did. And they better show up and not make a scene…for Hayley's sake. She's been through enough."

The preparations continued for another hour, when the doors to the compound opened, revealing Elijah and Cami, all dressed up and ready to have the party of the year, alongside the rest of the Mikaelsons. Hope raced down the stairs in her cute little outfit and used her speed to jump right into her uncle's arms. "Uncle 'lijah!" she exclaimed and Elijah laughed, holding her close to him. "How are you, my darling niece?" "Good. Where have you been?" she asked him when she finally pulled back from their hug. Before Elijah could say something, Klaus and Hayley were already descending the stairs together, side by side. Cami cleared her throat and tried smiling. "Hayley, you look very beautiful!" she exclaimed and Hayley nodded. "Thank you. You too." Hayley was wearing a sparkling grey dress, Rebekah thought would be perfect for the New Year, while Klaus was wearing a simple suit with a red tie.

"I believe our guests shall be here shortly. Elijah, brother, have a drink with me. I have something I would like to discuss with you." His face was stern and Elijah smiled at Camille, giving her a kiss on the cheek, surprising everyone, especially Rebekah. "I will be back and we can have our first dance." Cami nodded with a small smile spread across her lips. Elijah turned back to Klaus, who offered him a drink. "A new romance blossoms between you and my ex, I see. Just as you have gone after the woman bearing my child from the start." "Niklaus, please do not start. I came here in peace." "It was a simple observation. But if you and Cami are happy together, I don't see any problem in having you two lovebirds here, under the same roof with us. Now, on lighter subjects…" "Why do I feel like this has something to do with Hayley?" Klaus led him away from the others so they could talk more privately. "I want you to talk to her this very moment and offer her your apologies. I will be joining you." "Niklaus…" "That is my desire for this night. I expect you to be most understanding that Hayley has been going through a bit of a rough time and she needs to hear you and your perspective of what happened to Jackson."

Elijah smirked and said, "I am pleased to hear that you actually show understanding and care towards her. You never have before." Klaus smirked as well and then grabbed a hold of his brother roughly and brought him in front of Hayley. "We only have a few moments until Rebekah will open the gates for our guests to arrive. Anything that you would like to say to Hayley, brother?" Klaus asked him and Elijah grunted, as he looked over at the hybrid girl in front of him with her hands crossed over her chest. "It's okay, Elijah. I'm not going to bite you or anything. I just need to know…" Hayley started saying but Elijah cut her off. "There is nothing more to say. What can I tell you? I have expressed my forgiveness the last time I have encountered you and I have been living with guilt in California ever since." Hayley looked over at Klaus, as he asked her, "Are you satisfied, love?"

Nodding, Hayley turned to Elijah and said, "I can't forgive you overnight. But you are family. You have always been a part of my family since the day we met and for the sake of what we once shared together, I think that I can forgive you for this. But in time, Elijah. For now, I really don't want this to be brought up any longer." Elijah nodded and whispered, "Very well." Rebekah clapped her hands together as she went over to them and said, "I have opened the gates and people are coming in here like crazy. Remember, the people invited are all immortal, so don't hold back on anything." Sure enough, the Vampire, Witch and even the Werewolf Faction have entered, looking around at the spectacular decorations, chosen by the Mikaelson sisters. The wolves were passing by and still eying Hayley angrily when they saw her with Klaus. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, when she felt Klaus' soft fingers caressing her back. "Are you alright, little wolf?"

"What the hell is their problem? Haven't they done enough by neglecting me as their Queen?" she suddenly snapped and she could have sworn that some of them have heard her. She looked down when Hope came over with a glass of apple juice in her tiny little hand. Hayley smiled and kissed her forehead. "What's wrong, baby girl?" "Some lady is talking to Uncle 'Lijah and Cami." She pointed over at the other side of the room, where Cami and Elijah were greeted at the party by Sydney, the woman who has accepted them in the homeless shelter volunteering program a couple of days before. "And I have to inform you that the late Eleanor Tate, the woman you had taken care of, just before her untimely death…has left something for the two of you in her will."

Elijah and Cami looked over to see that Sydney was offering them a plane ticket to Bahamas. "Apparently, she has a house there and her daughter will no longer be using it. It's yours." "Wow." Cami whispered and accepted the plane ticket for the next week. "Thank you. We will check it out." Sydney smiled at them and left. Cami then turned to Elijah and looked upset. "Do you think that we should take this house?" "Why not? It is in a vacation spot. We can head over there and enjoy some quality time alone." "I understand…but that is the house of the woman who died right in front of us after we cared for her, Elijah. It just doesn't seem right." "But Sofia doesn't want that house. I am thinking that she is the one who offered it to us. Let us take it and this way, we can please Eleanor." Cami smiled and nodded. "Yes, I know. She would have never taken no for an answer. She had a lot of spunk." Elijah leaned over and kissed Cami, making her moan a little and smile, but they pulled back at once when they heard a racket from the other side of the ballroom.

"You were our Queen and we trusted you! Then you aligned with Klaus Mikaelson and our alpha was killed!" one werewolf snapped and Hayley stood her ground about to respond when Elijah stepped in and raised his hand. "I'm afraid that it was not my brother who has brought the death upon Jackson. It was me." The wolves gasped and remained silent as Elijah foolishly started explaining the incident. Klaus rolled his eyes and exclaimed, "They don't want to receive an explanation, Elijah! All they care about is having someone to blame for Jackson's death! I personally would have preferred had you not meddled in my affairs!" "It is not your affair, Niklaus. This is my responsibility, because I am the one who committed murder this time and not you." Elijah responded calmly. The wolves growled and pointed at Elijah. "Then you must pay the price!" "I intend to. It was an accident…but murder is murder."

Freya used her magic to turn the music louder in order to distract the other guests from the fight. Rebekah stepped over to them with her hands on her hips. "I have worked hard to arrange this party for my family and for the factions of this city and so help me, if you mutts try to ruin it, I will plunge my hands through your intestines…" "Rebekah, control yourself!" Elijah exclaimed and then added, "I will gladly pay the price!" "No, Elijah! You won't!" Hayley snapped and stepped forward so that she could face the wolves, her people with pride. She didn't care how mad they were at her. She only knew that she was still their Queen by birth right. She knew that Klaus would have wanted her to do this. "Jackson's death was a tragedy…but I won't hold Elijah responsible for what happened!" Some of the wolves chuckled and one said, "You don't have to! You're not our Queen anymore."

This was a big mistake coming from a wolf's mouth because at that moment, Hayley sped forward and grabbed the werewolf by the throat, slamming him to the ground. Then she put her heel at his throat and he looked up and started begging for mercy. The music was stopped and everyone turned around to pay attention this time. Even Hope was watching and Hayley knew that she couldn't do anything that her daughter would not approve of. And she couldn't kill one of her own. Instead, she let down the dress a little off her shoulder, to reveal the Crescent moon. It was the symbol…the sign which represented her birth right, her royalty…the fact that she was Queen of this city and Queen of the Crescent Wolves and nothing was about to change that.

"I will never be free of this birthright and no one can erase this mark from my shoulder so maybe it is time for me to make a point! I was your Queen before Jackson's death and I will continue to be your Queen! Jackson's death was a tragic accident, and he will always be remembered as having been a great alpha for us all. He was a good husband to me and a good man! But we cannot spend the rest of our lives taking revenge on the people who murder! That does not mean that we will ignore the murder either! Elijah Mikaelson had no intention to kill Jackson, nor had he any reason to! I have already questioned him myself and believe me…that I may be merciful but I do not close my eyes when justice must be served. Jackson was drunk that night and Elijah tried to do everything he could in his power to stop him from ruining the graves of other people who have died. Pulling his heart out was an incident…and an act of self-defense when Jackson tried to attack him!"

Klaus smiled, proud of his little wolf, as his Queen, as she continued speaking. "I know you can all agree that Elijah Mikaelson is to be considered the noble brother of the family! He is not a coldblooded killer. He never kills without purpose and unless he is forced to! That is why, I have every reason to pardon him, as long as he promises to be in service of the Werewolf Clan from this day forward. Do you agree to that, Elijah?" She turned to him and Elijah smiled, nodding. "There we have it! Now, I would like to enjoy this New Year's party with you all! No more fighting and no more complaining. Let's be cheerful and spread some goodwill! This world could sure use some!" She then pulled her heel away from the wolf' neck and sighed in relief that the wolves were no longer protesting. Turning back to Klaus, he pulled her in for a passionate kiss and mumbled, "You did amazingly well, my love. You are a leader of nature." Hayley smiled back and nuzzled her head into his neck.

"I am just happy that it is over. I can be at peace with you. At last." She whispered and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his warm body. She then turned to the windows, where she could see that the fireworks were being prepared by Rebekah and Freya. The countdown was soon starting and Hope was very excited, as she was every year. "Always and forever." Klaus murmured in Hayley's ear and she smiled, nodding. "Always and forever." She repeated.

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 **A/N: I hope you liked this mini-story. Now I have to get back to updating Double Hearted, because I feel like I kind of abandoned it after only 4 chapters, and there is still so much to say about what will happen there. Happy New Year's and let's hope that this year, it will be Klayley Year. Make sure that you all wish for it when the countdown starts!**

 **Thank you for reading and please leave me reviews!**


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